Market Signal Briefing

UnitedHealth is upgraded to 'Buy' as pessimism appears overdone and shares trade near a strong $300 support with compelling valuation metrics. UNH's scale, AI-driven cost efficiencies, and exposure to an aging U.S. population position it for long-term EPS and revenue recovery despite near-term stagnation. The stock offers a 3% forward dividend yield with a low 53% payout ratio and a solid record of dividend growth, appealing to income investors.

March 03, 2026 08:50 ET  | Source: CLIQ Digital AG

CLIQ Digital AG / Keyword: Forecast / Full year
CLIQ Digital AG issues guidance for the 2026 financial year
03. Mar 2026 / 14:50 CET/CEST

Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by GlobeNewswire.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

DÜSSELDORF, 3 March 2026 – The Management Board of CLIQ Digital AG (the "Company" or "CLIQ Digital") (ISIN: DE000A35JS40) today adopted the guidance for the 2026 financial year based on the preliminary results for the 2025 financial year published on 13 February 2026.

Consolidated revenue of between € 40 and 60 million is expected for the full year 2026 (preliminary in the 2025 financial year: € 132 million). EBITDA is expected to be between € 0 and 5 million (preliminary in the 2025 financial year: € -6 million). Total customer acquisition costs for the 2026 financial year are forecast at around € 8 to 15 million (preliminary in the 2025 financial year: € 28 million).

CLIQ Digital will publish its financial results for the 2025 financial year as planned on 5 March 2026.

End of Inside Information

GlobeNewswire Distribution Services include regulatory announcements, financial/corporate news and press releases.
Archive at www.globenewswire.com

Language English Company CLIQ Digital AG Grünstraße 8 40212 Düsseldorf Germany Phone +49 211 9350 706 Fax +49 211 9350150 Email [email protected] Homepage https://cliqdigital.com/ LEI 5299000KAU5HBSUPV421 Listed ― DE000A35JS40, DE - Frankfurt Exchange, Boerse Frankfurt - Freiverkehr, A35JS4; DE - XETRA Stock Exchange, XETRA Stock Exchange, A35JS4; DE - Stuttgart Stock Exchange, Boerse Stuttgart - Freiverkehr, A35JS4; DE - Berlin Stock Exchange, Boerse Berlin - Freiverkehr, A35JS4; DE - Munich Stock Exchange, Boerse Muenchen - Freiverkehr, A35JS4; DE - Dusseldorf Stock Exchange, Boerse Duesseldorf - Freiverkehr, A35JS4; DE - Dusseldorf Stock Exchange, Quotrix Open Market, A35JS4; DE - Tradegate Exchange, Regulated market, A35JS4;
Indices Scale All Share (Kursindex), DAXsector All Retail (Kurs), DAXsubsector All Retail, Internet (Kurs), DAXsector All Retail (Performance) DAXsubsector All Retail, Internet (Performance), Scale 30, MSCI World Micro Cap

Key Takeaways AT&T launched a Connected AI solution to streamline smart manufacturing operations.T integrates 5G, edge AI and Gen AI with MicroAI, NVIDIA and Microsoft support.AT&T shares rose 2.1% in a year; 2025 and 2026 earnings estimates moved up. AT&T, Inc. (T - Free Report) introduces a Connected AI solution to expedite smart manufacturing processes. The Connected AI solution features advanced, Gen AI-powered modeling and analytics.

The solution finds out bottlenecks in the process, identifies root causes and also provides recommendations to fix them. Its integrated edge AI monitors the effectiveness of machines, figures out faults, and provides actionable insights and optimized maintenance planning. The solution comes with predictive maintenance that helps prevent problems and reduce downtime.

The solution’s AI-powered cybersecurity swiftly flags any issues, and speeds up detection and threat minimization processes. Gen-AI-powered knowledge management feature retains and retrieves institutional knowledge and uses the technical know-how at the right places to streamline operations. The feature addresses one of the key issues of the manufacturing companies, which is the loss of vast knowledge when a long-term employee retires.

The lack of a unified data sharing system and disjointed operations led to delayed insights, and reactive maintenance led to high downtime and inefficient manufacturing practices. AT&T’s leading-edge platform, which integrates 5G, edge AI and a generative AI platform, effectively addresses these issues.

The company has collaborated with industry leaders, such as MicroAI, NVIDIA and Microsoft in this venture. NVIDIA is offering fast video analytics and conversational AI capabilities. Generative AI at the edge is powered by Microsoft’s Azure Open AI. Pilot test results have shown significant improvement across several parameters.

How Are Competitors Faring?AT&T faces competition from Verizon Communications, Inc. (VZ - Free Report) and Vodafone Group Plc. (VOD - Free Report) in the industrial IoT and smart manufacturing space. Verizon is rapidly expanding into private 5G networks and industrial automation solutions. Verizon is also collaborating with AWS to develop fiber and edge network infrastructure for AI applications.

Vodafone has a strong presence in the European private 5G market. The company is a major player in global IoT connectivity, automotive telematics and logistics. However, despite a strong presence in other regions, Vodafone lacks a presence in the U.S. market.

T’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesAT&T’s stock has gained 2.1% over the past year against the Wireless National industry’s decline of 7.2%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Going by the forward price to earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 12.01 forward earnings, lower than the industry’s 13.14.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Earnings estimates for 2025 and 2026 have moved upward in the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

AT&T currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Aberdeen Group Plc (SLFPY) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recorded their first inflow in the month of March. A total of $458 million worth of Bitcoin ETFs were registered in inflows for the sector, according to Farside Investors data.

BlackRock dominates Bitcoin ETFs inflowsThis is a significant development considering that the Bitcoin ETF market had closed February with $27.5 million worth of outflows on the last trading day. The bearish close had raised concerns among investors regarding the March outlook and whether the trend would continue.

However, March kicked off on a positive note as investors collectively put $458.2 million into the different Bitcoin ETF products. Notably, BlackRock’s IBIT had the largest inflows with over 50% of the total. IBIT recorded $263.2 million to lead daily inflows.

Other top performers include Fidelity’s FBTC with $94.8 million and Bitwise’s BITB with $36.4 million. VanEck’s HODL had $19.5 million, and Grayscale’s BTC recorded $18.4 million, while Franklin’s EZBC registered $14 million.

𝗕𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗧𝗙 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 (𝗨𝗦$ 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻) – 2026-03-02

TOTAL NET FLOW: 458.2

IBIT: 263.2
FBTC: 94.8
BITB: 36.4
ARKB: 5.7
BTCO: 6.2
EZBC: 14
BRRR: 0
HODL: 19.5
BTCW: 0
GBTC: 0
BTC: 18.4

For all the data & disclaimers visit:https://t.co/Wg6Qpn0Pqw?from=article-links

— Farside Investors (@FarsideUK) March 3, 2026 Despite the impressive inflows on the first trading day, investors are worried. In mid-February, reports indicated that Harvard trimmed its investment in Bitcoin ETF by a significant 21% and diverted it to Ethereum. The move sparked debate about declining interest from corporate entities investing in the sector.

Understandably, the concerns remain valid given the continued price volatility of the leading crypto asset on the market. Amid geopolitical tensions and dwindling risk appetite on the part of investors, Bitcoin’s fluctuation has continued unabated.

The coin has not been able to maintain stability above the $70,000 mark for some time now. Its latest attempt saw it decline from a daily peak of $70,044.00 to a low of $65,303.14 in the last 24 hours.

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Can Bitcoin ETFs sustain their momentum? As of this writing, Bitcoin exchanges hands at $67,103.03, which represents a 1.36% increase within the time frame. 

The current rally is largely driven by regulatory optimism around U.S. crypto legislation and increased activity by institutional investors in the ETF market.

Bitcoin’s trading volume has also seen an uptick and soared by 40.14% to $55.25 billion as retail traders join in engaging the coin.

One fact with the ETF market is that recovery could occur at any moment once institutional interest picks up. For instance, $843 million in daily inflows in January pushed weekly inflows to $1.7 billion, stunning bears and stemming the outflows that had prevailed until then.

It remains to be seen if this bullish start to March might be the start of a week of positive inflows into the Bitcoin ETF space.

TLDR: XRP’s 30-day realized volatility hit 1.16 on Binance, the highest reading recorded since March 2025. Whale wallets accumulated 1.3 billion XRP tokens within 48 hours, raising fresh questions about intent. XRP traded near $1.35–$1.36 amid a standoff between buyers and sellers with no clear trend yet. Rising volatility and large whale activity together signal that XRP may be approaching a key price move.
XRP is drawing fresh attention from traders and analysts across global crypto markets. The 30-day realized volatility on Binance has climbed to approximately 1.16.

This marks one of the highest readings since March 2025. On-chain data also shows whales accumulated 1.3 billion XRP in just 48 hours.

Together, these two developments signal a shifting market environment where price movements are growing increasingly unpredictable. Traders are watching both indicators closely as conditions continue to evolve.

Rising Volatility Reflects a New Phase of Market Activity The 30-day realized volatility indicator measures the annualized standard deviation of daily returns. It serves as a reliable gauge of actual market risk over time.

A reading of 1.16 means the daily price range has widened from earlier months. This reflects a return of speculative activity in this market.

Source: Cryptoquant

XRP was trading near $1.35 after a strong price surge earlier in 2025. A correction followed, and the price moved gradually lower from its highs.

The combination of declining price and rising volatility reflects a standoff between buyers and sellers. No clear directional trend has been established yet.

Historically, sharp volatility spikes often precede strong price moves. They unfold in both directions, depending on broader market conditions.

Reaching the highest level since March 2025 places the token at a critical junction. This may pave the way for a new repricing phase or a more defined trend.

Whether volatility holds here or climbs higher will matter for the token’s next move. Traders are watching for any breakout confirmation.

The return to elevated readings suggests the calm period is over. The asset has entered a more dynamic trading phase.

Whale Accumulation Adds a New Dimension to the XRP Market Picture On-chain activity over the past 48 hours has drawn attention from market watchers. Crypto analyst Steph, known on X as @Steph_iscrypto, flagged the development in a recent post.

She noted that XRP whales bought 1.3 billion XRP in just 48 hours. Buying at this scale rarely goes unnoticed in crypto.

Whales are large holders whose buying can sometimes foreshadow price moves in digital assets. Their accumulation tends to happen quietly, before broader momentum becomes visible.

Even so, buying alone does not guarantee an immediate price increase for the asset. Market sentiment still plays a major role in determining direction.

When viewed alongside rising volatility, the whale activity adds further weight. Both signals suggest growing pressure beneath current price levels.

At $1.36, the token sits below its earlier 2025 highs, leaving room for moves in either direction. Traders are watching this overlap closely for any follow-through.

The coming days will prove telling for the asset’s near-term direction. On-chain data and volatility readings remain key reference points.

Tracking both may offer a clearer picture of what comes next for XRP. The current setup is one that traders at all levels are watching.

Bitcoin has returned to an extreme technical zone that has historically marked major cycle bottoms for the BTC price. According to crypto analyst @DurdenBTC, the Harmonic Oscillator has now printed its lowest possible reading, a level that previously preceded outsized one-year gains. The signal raises a direct question: Does history imply that Bitcoin is positioned to double from here?

Bitcoin Harmonic Oscillator Signals BTC Price Could More Than Double A chart shared by the analyst highlights a striking signal for Bitcoin, showing the Harmonic Oscillator at -100, the lowest point on its long-term decaying price range, which spans from -100 to +100. This “Capitulation” zone marks periods when BTC trades far below its harmonic center and historical equilibrium, signaling extreme market pessimism.

Source: X Historically, every time the oscillator has hit this level—late 2011, early 2015, late 2018, March 2020, and late 2022—Bitcoin reached major cycle lows before entering strong upward trends. The chart quantifies this pattern, showing a median one-year return of +135% from the capitulation zone, with a 100% success rate across all recorded signals.

For traders, this suggests that the BTC price could more than double over the next year if history repeats itself. The chart also contrasts other zones in the oscillator, illustrating the model’s cyclical reliability: the “Undervalued” zone historically produced +77% median returns, “Equilibrium” and “Overheated” zones delivered smaller gains, and the “Euphoria” band at the top often led to negative returns.

In essence, the chart emphasizes that Bitcoin’s current capitulation reading may mark a rare opportunity for a major rally. By connecting extreme market lows with historically consistent gains, the oscillator provides traders a clear framework for anticipating BTC’s next potential cycle.

Bearish Trend Model Meets A Generational Buy Signal Although the oscillator has a strong historical record, @DurdenBTC notes that his broader trend system currently leans bearish. This creates a tension between momentum-based trend signals and the oscillator, which indicates extreme undervaluation. The oscillator works on a damped harmonic model, where price moves around a rising long-term center line while volatility gradually compresses.

The chart shows Bitcoin trading below its harmonic center and fair value, with a negative deviation reinforcing the capitulation signal. A 90-day inset highlights a sharp drop to this lower boundary. Meanwhile, the two-year fair value estimate remains well above the current price, showing a significant gap between current levels and the modeled equilibrium.

The oscillator also shows that cycle energy has reset to lower levels, similar to previous macro bottoms. Historically, these resets marked the shift from decline into accumulation phases.

This does not mean price will immediately reverse, but statistically, readings like this have marked generational buying opportunities. While the analyst maintains a cautious stance aligned with the bearish trend, the -100 oscillator reading represents one of the most asymmetric setups in Bitcoin’s cycle history.

Bear continue to pull down price | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com

Cardano's community funding pipeline just stopped mid-cycle.

Project Catalyst, the on-chain grants mechanism that has distributed over $150 million across 2,200 projects since launch, recently announced that stewardship is moving from Input Output Global to the Cardano Foundation.

Additionally, Fund15 and Fund16 won't proceed in their proposed form until the transition completes. The Catalyst team will migrate to the Foundation to maintain continuity for existing grantees. Still, the pause leaves hundreds of applicants who prepared proposals for the next rounds without a voting timeline or clarity on funding.

This isn't routine administrative housekeeping. Catalyst operates as Cardano's capital allocation engine, the mechanism through which ecosystem participants vote on treasury disbursements to builders, infrastructure projects, and community initiatives.

Reorganizing that machinery mid-cycle while returning earmarked ADA to the treasury signals a decision to treat grants infrastructure as requiring governance-grade oversight before issuing new obligations.

Timeline diagram shows Cardano's Catalyst stewardship transferring from IOG to the Foundation, with Fund14 continuing through milestones while Fund15 and Fund16 are paused and earmarked ADA returns to treasury.What actually changesThe immediate mechanics are straightforward.

Stewardship transfers from IOG, the development organization that built and operated Catalyst since inception, to the Cardano Foundation, the Swiss nonprofit responsible for protocol standards and ecosystem coordination.

Catalyst team members join the Foundation to ensure existing commitments are not broken during the handover. Fund14 milestone administration continues, meaning projects already approved and working through delivery checkpoints face no disruption.

Yet, Fund15 and Fund16 effectively vanish. Fund15's published budget showed 18.5 million ADA plus 250,000 USDM, Midnight's stablecoin, earmarked for distribution.

That allocation is now being returned to the treasury, aligned with Intersect, the member-based organization coordinating Cardano governance.

The transition leaves applicants who spent months preparing proposals and reviewers who invested time in evaluating them without a path forward.

The language matters. The update doesn't say Fund15 is “delayed” or “postponed,” it says running it “in its proposed form is not feasible.” That phrasing suggests structural questions about how Catalyst should operate, who administers it, and what controls govern capital deployment.

Funding round / itemStatus nowWhat happens to moneyWho is affectedWhat’s confirmed in update (short phrasing)Fund14 (and earlier)ContinuesExisting allocations continue under milestone disbursementsCurrent grantees (Fund14 and earlier)“Commitments up to Fund14 will continue… under the milestone process.”Fund15Paused/reset (won’t run as proposed)18.5M ADA + 250,000 USDM (published budget) returned to treasuryFund15 applicants + reviewers + teams planning runway“Running Fund15… in its proposed form is not feasible.” Funds earmarked for Fund15 to be returned to treasury.Fund16Paused/reset (won’t run as proposed)Earmarked ADA returned to treasuryFuture applicants; ecosystem teams counting on the next round“Running Fund…16 in its proposed form is not feasible.” Funds earmarked for Fund16 to be returned to treasury.Stewardship (Catalyst operator)Changing handsN/A (governance/ops shift)Ecosystem governance; anyone relying on Catalyst cadence“IOG and the Cardano Foundation agreed to move stewardship of Catalyst to the Foundation.”Operations (team + continuity)Continuity preservedN/AExisting grantees; Catalyst admin workflows“Catalyst team members will join the Cardano Foundation to maintain continuity.”Applicants / reviewersIn limboNo new disbursements via Fund15/16 until redesignProposal authors, community reviewers, voters awaiting a timelineUpdate acknowledges impact and lack of a clear path/timeline during transition (“deeply regret the impact…”)Why reorganize nowCardano's announcement cites the need to “reassess strategy, operations, and the best path forward” after cross-entity alignment meetings in February involving IOG, the Foundation, and Intersect.

That framing points to questions beyond simple logistics: what governance structure should oversee community funding, how should accountability mechanisms work, and what administrative standards apply when distributing treasury assets at scale.

Catalyst has operated for years under IOG's stewardship, serving as a recurring grant lottery in which community members vote on proposals using weighted ADA.

The model helped bootstrap ecosystem development, but as the program scaled to administer over 500 active projects simultaneously, the operational complexity and capital risk profile changed.

Moving stewardship to the Foundation shifts control from the product organization that built the system to the entity responsible for long-term ecosystem stability.

The broader pattern visible across blockchain ecosystems: grants programs that begin as product features eventually migrate to foundation-level infrastructure when the stakes justify formal governance.

The shift from “team-run grants” to “foundation-administered capital allocation” typically occurs when funding levels reach levels that require audit trails, milestone accountability, and legal clarity about fiduciary responsibilities.

Cardano is making that transition mid-cycle rather than waiting for a natural break between funding rounds.

That creates short-term disruption but potentially reduces long-term governance debt, the accumulation of process shortcuts and structural ambiguities that become harder to unwind as obligations compound.

The budget reset questionReturning earmarked ADA to the treasury isn't equivalent to funds disappearing.

It's a reallocation decision that increases optionality. Instead of automatically flowing into Fund15 and Fund16 under the existing process, that capital returns to governance control while the operating model gets redesigned.

Stacked bar chart illustrates Cardano's Catalyst transition, showing Fund14 obligations continuing while Fund15 and Fund16 new intake closes and earmarked capital returns to treasury during reorganization.Intersect's role provides context. The organization maintains documentation describing a treasury administration model in which funding contracts can be deployed with milestone gates and sweep-back mechanisms, and a smart contract infrastructure that allows treasury funds to be conditionally released and automatically returned if conditions aren't met.

That technical capability suggests the redesigned Catalyst might operate less like a recurring grant lottery and more like a treasury program with explicit administration and tighter disbursement controls.

The numbers involved make the stakes clear. At current prices, Fund15's 18.5 million ADA allocation is worth tens of millions of dollars.

When a system regularly deploys capital at that scale based on community votes, the administrative infrastructure needs to match the financial materiality.

Who bears the costThe immediate cost falls on Fund15 applicants. Teams that spent time drafting proposals, building community support, and preparing to participate in the voting process now face an indefinite pause with no clear timeline.

The Catalyst announcement explicitly acknowledges this: “We deeply regret the impact on those who invested considerable time and energy preparing Fund15 proposals or serving as reviewers.”

Existing Fund14 grantees receive explicit continuity assurances. Milestone administration continues, meaning the stewardship transition doesn't disrupt projects already approved.

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That protection matters because maintaining trust with current grantees is a prerequisite to any future funding mechanism working effectively.

The broader builder ecosystem faces uncertainty about pipeline timing. Cardano's developer activity depends partly on Catalyst, a mechanism that enables teams to secure runway without external fundraising.

Pausing the pipeline doesn't stop existing projects, but it removes a known capital formation path for teams in earlier stages.

What the new model might look likeCatalyst may return less like a recurring grant lottery and more like a structured treasury program.

Instead of large funding rounds where hundreds of proposals compete in batch voting processes, the redesigned system could shift toward targeted tracks with narrower scopes, more rigorous milestone gating, and tighter administrative controls.

That model would trade some of Catalyst's original democratic accessibility for increased accountability and capital efficiency. Fewer proposals funded per cycle, but higher confidence in delivery metrics. More gatekeeping at intake, but clearer standards for what qualifies.

The Foundation's approach to stewardship prioritizes durability. Foundations exist to outlive product cycles and maintain infrastructure across governance transitions. IOG operates on product roadmaps that change as the protocol evolves.

Moving Catalyst to the Foundation implies treating it as permanent ecosystem infrastructure.

What happens nextThe immediate question: when will the transition be complete, and what will the redesigned process look like?

The Catalyst announcement promises “further updates once the transition is complete,” but doesn't specify a timeline.

Several signals will clarify what's actually changing. Evidence of treasury return mechanics appearing on-chain will show whether the new administration model relies on programmatic controls.

Whether Fund15's published budget reappears in a modified form or is replaced entirely by different funding structures reveals the scope of the redesign.

Timeline matters: a fast restart implies mostly administrative changes, a longer redesign quarter suggests rethinking voting mechanics and eligibility criteria.

The Catalyst team's move to the Foundation preserves institutional knowledge of community funding administration. They've run over 2,200 grants through completion, managing milestone verification and grantee support at scale.

That expertise doesn't transfer through documentation, as it requires the people who learned through iteration to keep operating the machinery while the organizational structure changes.

The decision to pause mid-cycle rather than waiting for a natural break reveals priorities. Letting Fund15 and Fund16 proceed under the old model would have avoided applicant disruption but would have perpetuated the governance gaps the transition aims to close.

Choosing the disruptive path suggests treating those gaps as material enough to justify immediate correction.

Cardano's community funding isn't disappearing. It's being reorganized to match the scale and risk profile it reached. The framework exists. The budget exists.

The demand from builders exists. What's being redesigned is the governance surface that connects them, and that infrastructure determines whether ecosystem funding operates as political theater or actual capital formation.

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Jupiter price has quietly become one of the strongest performers this week. While much of the market has been moving cautiously, JUP has climbed more than 24% over the past seven days, and the move doesn’t look random. Institutional capital stepped in. A major supply unlock was absorbed without panic. And technically, the chart has shifted from compression to expansion. When those pieces align, markets tend to pay attention.

So what exactly pushed Jupiter higher, and can this momentum continue?

The $35M Institutional Backing That Changed SentimentThe biggest catalyst came from ParaFi Capital, which committed $35 million into Jupiter. That number matters, but the timing matters even more.

The investment was announced during broader market weakness, when many funds were reducing risk exposure. Instead of stepping back, ParaFi leaned in. The allocation reportedly includes long-term positioning rather than short-term trading exposure, signaling conviction in Jupiter’s role inside the Solana ecosystem. Institutional capital entering during uncertain conditions often shifts sentiment quickly. Traders see it as a vote of confidence, not just liquidity. That narrative alone helped reprice expectations around JUP.

Supply Shock That Never MaterializedAt the same time, Jupiter faced a significant test. Roughly 253 million JUP tokens, worth about $36 million, were unlocked as part of scheduled vesting. In weaker conditions, events like this typically trigger heavy selling.

Instead, the price moved higher. That tells you demand was strong enough to absorb the additional supply. When large unlocks fail to push price down, it often signals accumulation underneath the surface. Markets tend to reward that kind of resilience.

Jupiter Price Chart Finally Broke OutFor weeks, JUP had been stuck inside a descending wedge pattern. Lower highs pressed price downward, while buyers quietly defended support near the $0.135 region. That compression finally resolved upward. 

JUP price broke through descending resistance with rising volume, the kind of breakout traders look for when confirming trend reversals. Momentum indicators also shifted higher, with RSI pushing above 60 without entering overbought territory. In simple terms, the market stopped drifting and started expanding. And that shift is what fuels continuation rallies.

Key Levels to WatchJUP price now faces its first real test near the $0.18–$0.20 range. Clearing that zone convincingly could open room toward $0.22–$0.24, where previous supply once capped upside. On the downside, $0.16 has become the level bulls must defend. If price falls back below it, the breakout narrative weakens. For now, structure favors continuation, but confirmation requires holding above former resistance.

What’s Next for Jupiter (JUP) ?Jupiter’s 24% weekly surge isn’t built on hype alone. It’s supported by institutional capital, supply absorption, and a clean technical breakout.

If broader market conditions remain stable and buyers defend support, JUP could extend this move further. However, resistance ahead will determine whether this is the start of a larger expansion phase or simply a sharp relief rally. For now, Jupiter has shifted from quiet consolidation to active momentum, and traders are watching closely to see how far it can run.

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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Pi Network price has rebounded from recent lows near $0.14 and is now trading around $0.17 on the daily timeframe. The recovery comes as momentum indicators improve and the price approaches a crucial range, signaling short-term stabilization after an extended decline. However, the move is unfolding just below a critical resistance zone close to $0.2, where previous breakdown pressure emerged. 

At the same time, recent on-chain wallet transfers linked to the core team have introduced potential supply-side uncertainty into the setup. This raises the concern over the upcoming price action, whether the PI price will break above $0.2 to reach $0.22 or slip back into the bearish range. 

Pi Price Analysis: Supply Pressure Meets Key ResistancePi Network is currently trading near $0.170 after rebounding from recent lows around $0.14. On the daily timeframe, price has recovered toward the mid-Bollinger Band, signaling short-term stabilization following a prolonged downtrend.

However, the broader structure remains cautious. The $0.19–$0.20 zone continues to act as a key resistance area, previously serving as breakdown support. Unless this level is reclaimed decisively, the current move appears to be a relief bounce rather than a confirmed trend reversal.

The RSI has climbed back above 50, indicating improving momentum, but it has not entered bullish expansion territory. This suggests buyers are regaining control gradually, not aggressively.

Adding to the technical setup, recent on-chain data shows wallets linked to the Pi Core Team transferring significant amounts of PI tokens to exchange-associated addresses. While such transfers do not confirm immediate selling, they increase the potential for supply to enter the market. This creates short-term uncertainty, particularly as the price approaches resistance. If additional tokens are distributed near the $0.19–$0.20 supply zone, upside momentum could remain capped.

How High Can Pi Price Go?The current price action reflects a recovery attempt rather than a confirmed trend reversal. Technically, PI must reclaim the $0.19–$0.20 resistance zone with strong volume to shift momentum decisively in favor of buyers. If this materialises, a move beyond $0.23 could be imminent, which is the major resistance to achieve. 

However, the momentum may fade for a while around this range, but if the bulls manage to reclaim the levels after a brief correction, reaching $0.3 may not be a tedious job for the Pi price rally. 

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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Japan has always been quick to adopt blockchain. Today, the Bank of Japan has launched a new blockchain settlement sandbox to test moving central bank reserve money on-chain. While no network has been officially chosen, Japan’s deep ties with Ripple and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) are drawing attention across global financial markets.

BOJ Tests On-Chain Settlement for Reserve DepositsGovernor of the BOJ, Kazuo Ueda, announced that the Bank of Japan will launch a sandbox program to test using blockchain for central bank money. The goal is to let banks move their reserve money on-chain using instant transfers and smart contracts.

This is not about retail crypto or public token trading. It involves real central bank money that commercial banks hold at the BOJ.

The sandbox program will reportedly test atomic transactions (instant and final settlement), smart contract functionality, artificial intelligence integration, and compatibility with BOJ-NET, Japan’s core interbank settlement system. 

If successful, this could modernize how large financial transfers are processed in the country.

Japan has already been researching a digital yen under its central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments. However, this new sandbox appears focused more on infrastructure efficiency rather than issuing a retail CBDC.

Ripple Already Active in Japan’s Blockchain EcosystemThe development becomes more interesting when viewed alongside SBI Holdings’ long-standing relationship with Ripple. SBI, one of Japan’s largest financial groups, has owned roughly 9% of Ripple since 2016.

Over the years, SBI and Ripple have already been running cross-border payment services using the XRP Ledger (XRPL). 

Meanwhile, SBI recently launched a ¥10 billion digital bond with XRP-linked incentives and signed an agreement to help distribute Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin in Japan.

Bank of Japan Might Choose XPR LedgerThe Bank of Japan’s blockchain settlement testing does not confirm any specific ledger choice.

Perhaps, some market participants believe that if the Bank of Japan chooses a blockchain system in the future, it could be XRPL, since it is already connected to parts of Japan’s financial system.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has previously praised Japanese policymaker Taira Masaaki for supporting blockchain growth. 

He stated that Japan’s leaders are committed to advancing crypto and blockchain technology through clear regulatory frameworks.

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Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has called the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act a “horrific” bill, doubling down on his earlier criticism of Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse for supporting the legislation. According to Hoskinson, the bill will turn crypto assets into securities and will not bridge the regulatory gap in the decentralized finance (DeFi) spaces or prediction markets.

Hoskinson Says Clarity Act Will Turn Assets Like XRP To Securities The Cardano founder used XRP as an example of a token that might be affected by the passing of the Clarity Act. He said that based on the text and the regulatory framework set by this bill, XRP would have been classified as a security at the time that it was launched.  

He added that the act states that if a digital asset is created with the intention of raising money for a blockchain network, it is categorized as an investment contract. In this case, that asset is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it cannot be listed on crypto exchanges; it would have to trade like a security through a broker or dealer. 

He further added that under this bill, a digital asset can only be classified as a commodity and fall under the purview of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) if it runs on a mature blockchain. Under the act, a mature blockchain is fully decentralized and not controlled by a single person or group with similar interests.

Per Hoskinson, these conditions would disqualify XRP as a digital commodity, given that, at launch in 2012, it was highly centralized among the founders. The same thing applies to other blockchain networks and digital assets, including Cardano and Ethereum. 

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He noted, “This bill, as written, everything starts as a security. XRP starts as a security. Cardano starts as a security. Ethereum starts as a security. All kinds of things there. Then you have to go to the SEC and tell them I don’t think I’m a security anymore.” 

The vocal Cardano founder opined that under this framework, there are no developer protections, and if new digital assets enter the market as securities, they will likely remain securities forever. 

JPMorgan Eyes Bullish Surge of Clarity Act Passes JPMorgan has noted that the passage of the Clarity Act could trigger massive gains in the second half of 2026. The banking giant stated that this bill will provide much-needed regulatory clarity, and this could draw interest from institutional investors.

However, the bill has yet to be passed, as it missed a March 1 deadline amid a stalemate over stablecoin yield. However, negotiations between Democratic and Republican lawmakers are still ongoing.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has stepped up his criticism of the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, describing the proposal as a trap for new crypto projects even as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse continues to support the legislation. His latest remarks have added a new layer to the debate over how the United States should regulate digital assets, XRP, and blockchain-based fundraising.

Hoskinson said the current draft would treat newly launched tokens as securities at the start, placing them under Securities and Exchange Commission oversight. He argued that this structure gives the SEC too much power during the early life of a project and could leave teams stuck in a long approval process before they can move into a commodity-style framework.

His criticism centers on H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act of 2025. The bill creates a framework that splits oversight between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while also preserving a gatekeeping role for the SEC in cases tied to investment contracts and maturity tests for blockchain networks.

Why XRP Entered the Center of the DebateHoskinson used XRP as a key example in his argument against the bill. He said that if lawmakers had applied the current CLARITY Act framework at the time of XRP’s launch, the asset likely would have started under a securities label because of its early structure and concentration around its founders. That point has drawn attention because Ripple already sit at the center of long-running debates about token classification in the United States.

The XRP example has widened the split between Cardano and Ripple on market structure policy. Hoskinson argues that older projects may still find a path through the system, but newer projects could face tougher hurdles. In his view, that outcome could push crypto founders to build outside the United States rather than launch under rules that begin with SEC control.

That argument connects directly to the text of the CLARITY Act. The bill uses concepts such as “digital commodity,” “investment contract asset,” and a “mature blockchain system” to decide which regulator takes the lead. It also allows issuers to file notice with the SEC that a blockchain is mature or expected to become mature within four years, a process critics say could create uncertainty for startup teams.

At press time, XRP price traded at $1.35, up 1.43% in the last 7 days, while trading volume climbed 27.33%.

XRPUSD 7-Day Chart | Source: CoinCodex

Ripple and Brad Garlinghouse Take a Different LineRipple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has taken a more pragmatic position on the CLARITY Act. Recent reporting shows that he sees a high chance of the bill passing by April and has argued that the crypto sector should accept a workable framework rather than wait for a perfect one.

The divide matters because Ripple has become one of the most visible corporate voices in Washington’s crypto policy talks. Garlinghouse has framed the bill as a route toward rules that can reduce years of uncertainty around XRP, crypto trading, and token issuance. 

Hoskinson, by contrast, says a flawed law could lock harmful standards into place and give regulators broader room to pressure future networks.

The CLARITY Act already passed the House in July 2025 by a 294-134 vote, which means the proposal has moved beyond committee debate and into a more serious stage of the policy process. That alone has kept XRP, Cardano, and other large crypto names tied to the bill’s progress.

Nasdaq-listed Core Scientific has dumped almost 1,900 BTC as the Bitcoin miner transition to to artificial intelligence (AI). CORZ stock tanks almost 4% during pre-market hours on Tuesday, following a 2.83% fall to $16.49 a day before.

Bitcoin Miner Core Scientific Dumps Bitcoin Holdings Core Scientific, a major Bitcoin mining company, recently sold approximately 1,900 BTC worth $175 million. This move comes as the firm accelerates its strategic pivot from Bitcoin mining to AI and high-performance computing (HPC) data center operations.

The sale occurred at an average price of about $92,100 per BTC. The sale helped the firm boost liquidity during the transition, according to the official announcement.

In the Q4 2025 earnings call, Core Scientific revealed it held 2,537 BTC valued at almost $222 million. After the recent sale, holdings dropped to below 1,000 BTC. The company’s management has described the sale as “opportunistic” and indicated plans to remain flexible with future BTC transactions.

Core Scientific plans to gradually sell all of BTC holdings in Q1 2026 to boost liquidity and fund capital expenditures tied to its AI colocation expansion. This comes despite many DATs including Strategy continued to increase BTC holdings despite the US-Iran war.

“We’re now past the halfway point on our existing builds and scaling our colocation platform into a 1.5 gigawatt pipeline of leasable capacity,” said CEO Adam Sullivan. “With a multi-geography footprint and proven execution, we’re accelerating RFS timelines across multiple sites to position the company for durable growth,” he added.

CORZ Stock Slumps CORZ stock fell 4% during pre-market hours on Tuesday. Core Scientific shares closed 2.83% lower at $16.49 on Monday. Trading volume has exceeed average volume of 11 million amid volatility and uncertainty in the markets.

Crypto stocks such as MSTR and BMNR spiked more than 7% after the US ISM Manufacturing PMI came in higher than expected. Also, crypto stocks are holding firmer compared to other stocks.

Core Scientific CORZ Stock. Source: Google Finance Notably, many Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI amid rising BTC mining difficulty and limited rewards. MARA stock jumped more than 15% as the company announced plans for a major joint venture with Starwood Capital Group to develop AI data centers.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin price has tumbled more than 3%, erasing almost all gains witnessed yesterday. Price is currently trading at $66,605 from a 24-hour high of $70,044. Trading volume stays higher at 40% over the last 24 hours, indicating interest among traders.

The total BTC futures open interest fell more than 2% to $43.76 billion in the last 4 hours, according to CoinGlass data. BTC futures OI on CME and Binance tumbled more than 8% and 4%, respectively.

Waves of artificial intelligence (AI) disruption panic have devastated stocks in several sectors during the past few months. Initially, AI replacement fears hit software-as-a-service companies. Angst then spread to other sectors, including financial, legal, logistics, and real estate businesses. The S&P 500 software and services index has dropped 19% since the start of the year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Those concerns contribute to an increasingly risk-off sentiment, which has played a part in Bitcoin's (BTC +0.50%) drop of more than 20% since Jan. 1 and driven outflows from Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, it is hard to blame AI for the tumble in digital asset prices. Bitcoin was designed to be decentralized and cut out intermediaries, so there's not much for AI to replace. The real culprits are reduced liquidity and doubts about future interest rate cuts, combined with an increasing correlation between crypto prices and tech stocks.

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Equally, AI will affect every industry to some degree. Here's how it could both help and hinder the cryptocurrency market.

The risks that AI poses for cryptocurrencies Fraud has long been an issue for both crypto and the real world. AI-assisted fraud is super-charging criminals' capabilities -- from believable deep fake videos to spoofing websites. That applies to cryptocurrency services too.

AI bots can also power sophisticated phishing attacks, where criminals impersonate legitimate sites to access -- and sometimes drain -- people's accounts and crypto wallets. Bots make it easier than ever to find and exploit weaknesses, such as vulnerabilities in blockchain smart contracts. That's a particular challenge for new decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.

Another difficulty is that AI might speed up the progress of quantum computing. Developers have known for some time that quantum computers could eventually become powerful enough to break the cryptography that secures cryptocurrencies. However, there's a lot of debate about the extent of the problem and how soon it might happen. Put simply, AI could shorten the timeline.

AI and blockchain could be a powerful combination On the positive side, these two emerging technologies could complement each other. That AI fraud we talked about earlier? Crypto can help with that. Blockchains offer ways to record proof of humanity on-chain, which could help counter deepfake content. Think of it as a way to embed a digital fingerprint into online content.

In addition to identity verification, decentralized networks give individuals ownership and control of their on-chain data. Blockchain is much harder to hack than centralized databases. As the number of data breaches soars and AI offers criminals more ways to exploit private information, that's powerful counterforce.

Finally, blockchain ledgers can track and verify automated AI activities. AI agents -- systems that can perform autonomous tasks -- are already making payments online. Ethereum (ETH +0.47%) co-founder Vitalik Buterin points out that it could act as an economic layer for these types of AI interactions. The tamper-proof nature of blockchain ledgers adds much-needed transparency and auditability.

AI won't replace the lead crypto, but for Bitcoin investors, the bigger question is which blockchains will have the most value in an AI world. Bitcoin can be unwieldy and is better seen as a digital vault than a form of payment. More agile players like Ethereum or Solana (SOL +0.54%) may be better able to support automated economic interactions and offer blockchain identity solutions.

Cardano (ADA 2.22%) is a crypto project that's easy to respect intellectually thanks to its commitments to academic-style collaboration and rigor, and yet hard to justify as an investment. Although its design doesn't particularly excel at any specific task, its community remains fiercely loyal.

But investing isn't the place to get sentimental. If you want your capital to compound with crypto, you need the chain you own to be a place where people already park value, borrow against it, and move it around such that real economic value is created. And that's why there are at least three reasons it's probably for the best to sell Cardano and buy one of its competitors like Ethereum (ETH +0.52%) or XRP (XRP 0.20%) instead.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Cardano still has not found a product-market fit Stablecoins are tokens designed to track a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar or other store of value, so they function like on-chain cash, and, as we all have heard, cash is king. On Cardano, the total stablecoin market cap is about $34 million. That's not zero, but for heavy-duty financial applications, it's minimal, and it's also too shallow for a teeming decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem to flourish.

On Ethereum, stablecoins total $159 billion. It's no surprise why it's the center of the DeFi universe; it has the most stablecoin fuel in the entire crypto sector by far. Meanwhile, XRP has $416 million in stablecoins.

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You can observe the same gap in usage.

Cardano processes about 2,100 transactions per hour at a pace of roughly 0.6 transactions per second (TPS) as of Feb. 25. Ethereum processes about 84,000 transactions per hour at roughly 23 TPS -- and that's a result of a couple of years dedicated to upgrading its throughput, with two additional upgrades on the way this year.

For its part, XRP operates at 21 TPS. And for the record, both XRP and Ethereum offer cheaper transaction fees than Cardano does.

So Cardano doesn't seem to have the features that capital is looking for. That's a big reason to sell it.

2. Ethereum has the capital it needs Ethereum's biggest advantage is not speed, though it's faster than Cardano. Its edge is that it already settles a large share of on-chain finance, particularly in DeFi, and liquidity tends to attract more liquidity.

That liquidity thus probably won't flow to smaller, slower platforms.

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Ethereum's DeFi total value locked (TVL) is $55.5 billion. Cardano has just $133 million. And XRP -- which as a chain explicitly targets centralized financial operators, and does not provision much of any of its feature set toward DeFi -- has TVL of just over $50 million. So it isn't even trying to compete in the segment whatsoever, unlike Cardano, and it still managed to attract some capital.

That argues against Cardano's inclusion in a crypto portfolio.

3. XRP will win with institutions The XRP Ledger (XRPL) is optimized for moving value and for supporting token issuance, both of which are tasks that financial institutions need to perform in an environment that complies with financial regulations. Whereas Cardano has little in the way of regulatory compliance features, and seemingly none planned for future development, XRP has plenty, and that means it's much more likely for it to win its target market.

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For example, the XRPL's multipurpose tokens (MPT) feature for tokenized asset management natively includes compliance controls like freezing balances or clawing back tokens, and there are plans to add a substantial suite of additional identity verification features to its compliance tooling. So it has the pieces in place to attract capital already, and so there's no real chance of that same capital deciding to flow to a less hospitable environment on Cardano.

Thus there's one less market where that coin has high odds of success, which is another reason to sell it.

Uniswap is not liable for alleged rug pulls by third-party token issuers, Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled. The dismissal follows a victory in a patent infringement case, strengthening Uniswap’s legal standing. Uniswap Labs and its founder, Hayden Adams, saw a significant legal victory when a US federal judge dismissed a four-year-old class-action complaint seeking to hold the decentralized exchange accountable for rug pull and pump-and-dump fraud on its platform.

The decision was delivered by Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan on March 2, ruling that Uniswap cannot be held responsible for the actions of anonymous token issuers and that operating as a decentralized platform providing an open‑source trading environment does not constitute assisting fraud.

Federal Court Backs DeFi Infrastructure Nessa Risley led the plaintiffs and filed the first lawsuit against Hayden Adams and Uniswap in April 2022. The lawsuit was dismissed in August 2023 and upheld on appeal.  Again, the plaintiffs refiled in May; this time, they switched to state consumer protection concerns and claimed that the platform permitted pump-and-dump schemes and rug pulls. 

The court upheld the legal safeguards for open-source DeFi platforms by rejecting the arguments once more.

Then, Brian, policy and legal lead at Uniswap Labs, said the ruling marks “another precedent-setting win for DeFi,” He stressed that even though the plaintiffs switched to state-level claims, the court once more determined that Uniswap cannot be held accountable for stated scams carried out by anonymous third-party token issuers, adding that it “defies logic” to hold a smart contract developer accountable for how others abuse the protocol.

As this decision marks Uniswap’s another major courtroom victory, as in February, Bancor-affiliated entities filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the exchange, which was dismissed by a New York federal judge, ruling that the patents at issue were based on abstract ideas and therefore not eligible for protection under U.S. patent law.

Following the ruling and continued legal wins, UNI is trading up about 1.5%, at $3.86, with a total market cap of $2.45 billion. Also, the  24-hour trading volume climbed over 23%, which signals increased market activity.

Highlighted Crypto News:

Hong Kong and Shanghai Authorities Integrate Cargo Data on Blockchain

Bitcoin (BTC) is flashing a fresh “death cross” on its three-day chart, marking the bearish signal’s first appearance since June 2022.

Key takeaways:

BTC’s death cross raises the odds of a 35% average downside in March.

US Bitcoin ETFs have attracted over $458 million in daily inflows.

BTC/USD three-day price chart. Source: TradingViewPast BTC death crosses preceded 35% dropsA death cross pattern appears when the short-term 50-period moving average crosses below the longer-term 200-period moving average, and it has at times presaged further near-term weakness.

In 2022, for example, Bitcoin’s 50–200 MA crossover on the three-day chart came before a steep slide of about 50%, with BTC eventually bottoming near $15,480.

BTC/USD three-day price chart. Source: TradingViewIn total, BTC has formed a death cross three times before 2026. The average returns over the following one, three, and 12 months were around –35%, –20%, +30%, respectively.

Bitcoin averaged a drawdown of roughly 80% from its peak in those three cycles. As of March 2026, BTC had already dropped by about 50% since its record high of around $126,270 five months ago.

It suggests BTC is now entering “the most brutal part of the bear market,” per analyst Mister Crypto.

That view echoes market commentators who see Bitcoin eventually carving a bottom in the $30,000–$45,000 range.

Bitcoin ETFs attract $458.20 million despite Middle East turmoilUS spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $458.20 million in net inflows on Monday, according to Farside Investors data, signaling that dip-buying has returned after weeks of outflows.

US Bitcoin spot ETF cumulative flows. Source: Farside InvestorsThe inflows came as Bitcoin volatility spiked following a sharp escalation in the Middle East.

After US and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, Iran said it was closing the Strait of Hormuz and warned it would attack ships attempting to pass, raising fresh concerns about energy prices, supply chain stability, and shipping routes.

However, Arthur Hayes, the former BitMEX CEO, argued that this may eventually boost Bitcoin prices.

In a recent essay, Hayes said that prolonged US involvement could eventually push policymakers toward easier money.

He wrote that the longer US President Donald Trump engages in costly “Iranian nation-building,” the higher the chance the Fed “lowers the price and increases the quantity of money.”

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.

Veteran trader and author Bob Loukas, who has over 30 years of experience in financial markets and is known for his 60-day BTC cycle theory, shared a new Bitcoin price outlook on Monday. Unlike the wave of optimistic predictions that swept the crypto world over the weekend, Loukas’s analysis offered little reason for bullish sentiment.

In his latest analysis, Loukas notes that despite Bitcoin being deeply oversold, the weekly chart “remains horrendous.” From a purely visual standpoint, he says, the apex cryptocurrency seems to be “hanging by a thread,” hinting at the possibility of another significant drop. Loukas also set a gloomy price target of roughly $49,000 per BTC for the leading digital asset.

As deeply oversold as Bitcoin is, this weekly chart remains horrendous and from a purely visual perspective, feels like it's hanging on by a thread and readying for another big leg lower. pic.twitter.com/dvNwAeoyZ8

— Bob Loukas 🗽 (@BobLoukas) March 2, 2026 Bitcoin Price To Crash To $49,000? Responding to commenters who cited the business cycle indicator, Loukas dismissed it as the “biggest cope” in crypto. He also sees no evidence of a halving-driven rally, asserting that the upcoming halving is unrelated to Bitcoin’s current price action.

According to the pundit, early inflows were driven more by spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) developments, a pro‑crypto government stance, and regulatory shifts — but “beneath all of it, it has always been a bear cycle.”

Crypto prices are recovering from their worst weekend lows on Monday, mirroring a strong rebound in U.S. equity markets. Bitcoin has climbed to $69,343, gaining 5.4% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.

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The premier crypto currently remains roughly 25% above Loukas’s target. If his projections hold, this implies that from the October 2025 peak, BTC could potentially plummet by an eye-watering 60%.

Analyst Tony Severino echoed this bearish outlook, citing Ichimoku Cloud signals that suggest a further decline of 38% to 66% from current levels is almost certain.

‘Scam token’ case against Uniswap dismissed by U.S. district judge in NYCDistrict Judge says that due to the protocol’s decentralized nature, the identities of the scam token issuers are basically unknown, leaving plaintiffs with no identifiable defendant. Mar 3, 2026, 11:17 a.m.

A federal judge has dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit against Uniswap Labs, CEO Hayden Adams and several venture capital backers, ruling they cannot be held liable for alleged “rug pull” tokens traded on the decentralized exchange’s protocol.

In a ruling issued Monday by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Katherine Polk Failla threw out the remaining state law claims in Risley v. Universal Navigation Inc., the Brooklyn-based firm that operates Uniswap. after previously dismissing the plaintiffs’ federal securities claims. The decision effectively ends the case at the district court level.

The ruling is one of the first to specifically address whether developers and investors behind a decentralized protocol can be held liable under existing securities and state laws for tokens created and traded by third parties.

“Due to the Protocol’s decentralized nature, the identities of the Scam Token issuers are basically unknown and unknowable, leaving Plaintiffs with an identifiable injury but no identifiable defendant,” Failla wrote.

“Undaunted, they now sue the Uniswap Defendants and the VC Defendants, hoping that this Court might overlook the fact that the current state of cryptocurrency regulation leaves them without recourse, at least as to the specific claims alleged in this suit,” she added.

Irina Heaver, a UAE-based crypto lawyer, told CoinDesk “the dismissal signals that courts are beginning to engage more seriously with the realities of decentralization.”

By recognizing that a permissionless protocol governed by autonomous smart contracts is not the same as a centralized intermediary exercising control, the court drew an important distinction for DeFi, she explained.

“When code executes automatically and there is no discretionary control, liability cannot simply be reassigned to developers because bad actors misuse the infrastructure,” Heaver said. “The real question now is how this reasoning carries into criminal cases such as Tornado Cash. If decentralization is acknowledged as a structural reality, prosecutors will need to prove intent and control, not merely authorship of code.”

Brian Nistler, Uniswap’s head of policy, celebrated the ruling on X, calling it “another precedent-setting ruling for DeFi.” He highlighted what he described as his “favorite quote” from the case: “It defies logic that a drafter of a smart contract, a computer code, could be held liable … for a third party user’s misuse of the platform.”

The plaintiffs, a group of investors , claimed they lost an undisclosed amount of money after purchasing dozens of tokens on the Uniswap Protocol that they later described as scams. Because the token issuers were unidentified, the investors instead sued Uniswap Labs, the Uniswap Foundation, Adams and venture firms Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures.

Failla rejected the argument that the defendants could be held responsible simply for providing the infrastructure on which the tokens were issued and traded.

“Plaintiffs’ theories of liability are still predicated on Defendants having ‘facilitated’ the scam trades by providing a marketplace and facilities for bringing together buyers and sellers of Tokens,’” Failla wrote, concluding that the claims failed as a matter of law.

In an earlier dismissal of the federal claims, Failla said it “defies logic” to hold the drafter of a smart contract liable for a third party’s misuse of the platform — language that has been widely cited by decentralized finance advocates.

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X account @XRPwallets, which tracks XRP transactions, including those made by Ripple, has published a detailed report of where half of the billion XRP coins unlocked by the crypto giant last month were distributed.

The majority, according to the X post, was used for ETPs and other investments via major cryptocurrency trading platforms. Traditionally, Ripple releases one billion XRP during the first days of every new month and then locks around two-thirds of it back into escrow.

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Ripple's actual half-billion XRP release mapped@XRPwallets revealed that, in February, the San Francisco-based blockchain behemoth shifted approximately 309 million XRP to major cryptocurrency exchanges. Those coins eventually went to XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs), XRP trusts and other investments. The largest XRP chunk was sent to Binance — 300 million. Five million XRP went to Bitgo and four million XRP to Coinbase.

Besides, Ripple transferred around 100 million XRP to various Ripple Pay (formerly known as ODL) corridors to support liquidity in those payment channels.

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?from=article-links

— XRP_Liquidity (ETF 1Y 39.8B = Max 54.4B) (@XRPwallets) March 3, 2026 Since early 2018, Ripple has been unlocking one billion XRP and then locking around 700 million or 800 million XRP.

In March, Ripple also unlocked one billion coins. Earlier today, the aforementioned account reported that, in February, Ripple locked back 700 million XRP, and in March, it put back in escrow the same amount of crypto.

Ripple Escrowed XRP Relocked History

MAR - 700M XRP
FEB - 700M XRP
JAN - 700M XRP

2025

700M locked per month with exception of June 670M locked. Total unlocked 3.63B XRP

2024

800M locked per month with exception of NOV 530M locked. Total unlocked 2.67B XRP https://t.co/tlhMv12A0k?from=article-links

— XRP_Liquidity (ETF 1Y 39.8B = Max 54.4B) (@XRPwallets) March 3, 2026 Ripple sends 20 million RLUSD to GeminiIn an earlier tweet today, @XRPwallets also commented on Ripple recently minting a substantial amount of its stablecoin, RLUSD. According to @RL_Tracker, the crypto heavyweight minted two batches of RLUSD on Monday: 69,000,000 and 19,655,000 RLUSD. The former was the largest RLUSD mint ever made by Ripple.

@XRPwallets tracked the second one, saying that it was issued to a wallet that belongs to the Winklevosses' crypto exchange, Gemini. Apparently, this transaction was made as part of the collaboration between Ripple and Gemini (using Mastercard and WebBank) announced in November 2025.

The crypto exchange then intended to implement RLUSD settlements on the XRP Ledger for payments made with fiat bank cards. The first product of this collaboration was the Gemini XRP Credit Card.

That initiative was meant to ensure faster, more secure, transparent and compliant settlement within the conventional financial system.

Bitcoin miner Core Scientific (CORZ) expects to liquidate the majority of its bitcoin (BTC) holdings in 2026, with most of the sales likely occurring in the first quarter, as the company reallocates capital toward its expanding artificial intelligence and high-performance computing operations.

In its annual report filed Monday, the Nasdaq-listed miner said it “currently expects to monetize substantially all” of its bitcoin reserves this year to enhance liquidity and fund planned capital expenditures tied to its high-density colocation strategy.

The timing and size of sales, the company added, will depend on market conditions and cash requirements.

As of Dec. 31, 2025, Core Scientific held 2,537 BTC with a carrying fair value of $222 million, based on an average 2025 bitcoin price of $101,639.

The balance marked a sharp increase from 256 BTC at the end of 2024, reflecting a year in which the company retained most of its self-mined bitcoin production despite mounting capital commitments.

That accumulation phase is now reversing.

1,900 BTC already liquidated During its fourth-quarter earnings call, executives disclosed that Core Scientific had already sold just over 1,900 BTC in January for approximately $175 million, implying an average sale price near $92,000 per coin.

Following those transactions, the firm's holdings fell to fewer than 1,000 BTC, with roughly 630 BTC remaining, and management signaling it would continue to sell periodically.

Core Scientific CFO Jim Nygaard characterized the January sale as opportunistic, executed at prices well above current levels. CEO Adam Sullivan said its bitcoin mining is now “essentially in runoff,” with certain operations maintained primarily to satisfy minimum power commitments as legacy sites are converted to AI-focused colocation.

The company’s latest filing makes clear that treasury monetization is not incidental but central to its 2026 capital plan.

Core Scientific has been repositioning itself as a provider of high-density data center infrastructure designed to support AI and other compute-intensive workloads. Rather than regularly selling mined bitcoin to cover operating costs in 2025, the company built up its reserves nearly tenfold year over year. Now, those reserves are being tapped to finance the transition.

The strategy mirrors a broader shift among publicly traded miners seeking more stable, contracted revenue streams amid bitcoin price volatility and rising mining difficulty.

NYSE-listed bitcoin miner Cango recently sold 4,451 bitcoin for roughly $305 million to reduce leverage and support its AI expansion. Riot Platforms, another mining company, has directed substantial power capacity toward AI and high-performance computing initiatives, while TeraWulf has accelerated AI data center buildouts at its Lake Mariner and Texas sites. Bitdeer has also liquidated its bitcoin treasury to fund infrastructure growth, and CleanSpark, Bitfarms, and IREN have all outlined similar diversification plans in recent quarters.

In each case, companies are leveraging secured power capacity and existing data center footprints to pursue AI workloads, which can offer longer-term contracts and more predictable cash flow than bitcoin mining alone.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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Iranian crypto exchange outflows spiked 700% to nearly $3 million immediately following coordinated US and Israeli military strikes, according to a blog post by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.

The surge was detected on Iran’s largest exchange, Nobitex, suggesting a rapid flight to safety as users rushed to move assets off-platform and into overseas exchanges, in capital flight maneuvers that could be bypassing traditional banking systems.

This behavior signals acute distress in the local market, with capital potentially bypassing the domestic banking system entirely.

With the Iranian regime’s internet restrictions collapsing trading volumes by 80%, the value leaving exchanges indicates Iranian crypto speculation is over for now.

Key Takeaways:

Nobitex outflows surged 700% immediately after military strikes began. USDT trading pairs were suspended by central bank order, freezing liquidity. On-chain data shows 5.9% of volume is now linked to illicit or sanctioned activity. Iranian Exchange Outflow Deep Dive: 700% Spike Defies Volume Collapse Data from Elliptic reveals that net outflows on Nobitex, the country’s largest exchange, jumped 700% in the 48 hours following the strikes.

Source: EllipticThis massive exit occurred despite a wider collapse in market activity. Transaction volumes across Iranian platforms fell by roughly 80% between Feb. 27 and March 1 due to severe internet restrictions.

Bitcoin rebounded after the Iran strike shock, erasing losses quickly on global markets, but local Iranian traders did not wait for price discovery. They moved immediately to secure assets.

TRM Labs attributes the volume drop to “mechanical access limitations” rather than a collapse of market infrastructure. However, the simultaneous spike in withdrawals suggests that those who could access the network prioritized capital extraction over trading.

If these outflows sustain at current levels, domestic exchanges face a liquidity crisis. Users are effectively draining the order books, moving capital flow from centralized venues to decentralized wallets that are harder for local authorities to seize and harder for global regulators to track.

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USDT Sanctions Risk and Illicit Volume Signal: Is Tether the Next Target?The primary bridge for this capital flight is Tether (USDT). Recognizing this, Iran’s central bank directed major platforms, including Nobitex and Wallex, to temporarily suspend trading of the USDT/toman pair. This move effectively severed the main link between the domestic fiat currency and the global crypto economy.

Given its deep liquidity and dollar peg, USDT is the preferred vehicle for sanctions evasion and illicit flows

Source: EllipticThis concentration of risk draws a target on Iran’s crypto infrastructure. Global regulators, particularly OFAC, are increasingly sophisticated at mapping on-chain relationships between exchanges and sanctioned entities. The suspension of USDT pairs suggests Tehran is aware of the vulnerability.

If sanctions enforcement tightens on Tether rails, Iranian exchanges could be cut off from global liquidity pools entirely. This would force flows into less transparent, peer-to-peer shadow banking networks, complicating compliance for every major exchange worldwide.

Macro Implication: Failure of Control vs. Risk of IsolationThe situation presents a binary outcome for the region’s crypto market. If tensions escalate, the oil price impact from the Iran war could further devalue the rial, driving a second, more desperate wave of capital flight into crypto assets. This would likely trigger aggressive secondary sanctions from the U.S. targeting any protocol or platform facilitating these flows.

On the other hand, if internet restrictions ease and the central bank restores USDT pairings, the market may return to the “risk containment mode” observed by TRM Labs.

However, the 700% outflow spike has already signaled that confidence in domestic platforms is fragile.

The implications for global traders are clear: liquidity in the region is becoming increasingly toxic, and compliance firewalls need to be higher than ever.

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Bitcoin's price is down more than 20% during the past year as investors weigh AI disruptions and economic uncertainty. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF tracks the broad-market index and usually benefits regardless of which sectors of the economy are doing well.