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Minnesota state Senator Jeremy Miller has introduced the Minnesota Bitcoin Act, marking a significant shift in his stance from skepticism to advocacy for Bitcoin. The proposed legislation aims to allow the Minnesota State Board of Investment to invest state assets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, mirroring investments in traditional assets. This move follows a trend where 23 other US states have introduced similar legislation to establish Bitcoin reserves. Under Miller's bill, state employees could include cryptocurrencies in their retirement accounts, and residents would have the option to pay state taxes and fees using Bitcoin. Additionally, investment gains from cryptocurrencies would be exempt from state income taxes. This legislative push comes in the wake of Senator Cynthia Lummis' efforts to establish a federal Bitcoin reserve, highlighting a growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a legitimate investment option across the United States.
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Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was recently allowed to leave France for Dubai amidst ongoing legal proceedings. Arrested in August 2024 at Le Bourget airport in Paris, Durov faces allegations of negligence and complicity in crimes ranging from narcotics trafficking to terrorism, potentially facing up to 20 years in prison. His case has sparked a debate within the crypto community about the responsibilities of developers for the activities enabled by their platforms, especially those involving encryption and cryptocurrency. The situation mirrors the case of Alexey Pertsev, who developed Tornado Cash, where similar charges of money laundering were brought against him. Critics argue that these cases could set a precedent that threatens free speech and privacy, with some suggesting political motivations behind Durov's arrest due to his previous refusal to comply with Russian regulatory demands. The outcome of Durov's case could significantly influence how decentralized platforms operate and engage with regulatory frameworks, potentially leading to either more stringent self-censorship or a pushback against regulatory overreach.
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The Reuters report from March 18 highlights a strategic shift among cryptocurrency firms aiming to gain regulatory legitimacy and expand their market reach by applying for national bank status. Legal experts have noted a surge in interest for such applications, with law firms like Troutman Pepper Locke and Hunton Andrews Kurth actively involved in the process. Despite the optimism, the path to obtaining a bank charter remains fraught with challenges, as U.S. regulators have been historically stringent, approving only a handful of charters annually. The potential benefits for crypto firms include access to deposits, which could lower borrowing costs, enhance credibility, and open new business avenues. However, this move has sparked a debate within the crypto community. While some see it as a betrayal of Bitcoin's original ethos of decentralization, others believe it could pave the way for greater regulatory clarity and mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.
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Xapo Bank has launched a new service allowing its members to leverage their Bitcoin holdings for loans, aiming to provide a secure and flexible borrowing option. This initiative enables members to access USD funds without the need to sell their Bitcoin, thereby maintaining the potential for long-term growth of their cryptocurrency investments. The loans come with lower interest rates compared to traditional credit card loans, and members benefit from robust security measures and flexible repayment terms. Members can use an in-app calculator to assess their borrowing capacity, with personalized loan limits reaching up to $1 million. CEO Seamus Rocca emphasized the bank's commitment to offering a trustworthy lending product, contrasting it with past predatory practices in the crypto-lending space. This move by Xapo Bank is designed to empower Bitcoin holders by giving them financial control and the ability to utilize their assets without compromising their long-term investment strategy.
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Rodri Fernández Touza, once a student at Stanford and Harvard, took an unconventional path by joining a Buddhist monastery in upstate New York in 2021. However, his interest in the burgeoning NFT market led him to leave the monastery after just four months to launch Crossmint in 2022. This startup, aimed at simplifying the integration of cryptocurrency functionalities into software, recently secured $23.6 million in funding through various investment rounds. Crossmint's platform offers tools like APIs that allow developers to bypass the complexities of blockchain technology, making it easier to incorporate crypto features into their applications. The company has attracted a diverse clientele, including major corporations like Adidas and Red Bull, and has seen a significant increase in subscriptions. Despite the success, Touza remains tight-lipped about the company's revenue and profitability, focusing instead on the growth and utility of his platform in the tech and finance sectors.
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Strategy (MSTR) has launched a new financial instrument, the Perpetual Strife Preferred Stock (STRF), aimed at raising funds to continue its bitcoin acquisition strategy. This preferred stock offers a fixed 10% annual dividend, paid quarterly, with the potential for compounding if dividends are not paid. Unlike common stock, STRF holders do not have voting rights but are prioritized in liquidation scenarios. The introduction of STRF comes at a time when Strategy's aggressive bitcoin buying has decelerated, with only a modest purchase of 130 BTC recently. This move is part of Strategy's broader strategy to leverage capital markets for funding, amidst a backdrop of slowing market activity and a slight dip in bitcoin's value. The offering, managed by major financial institutions like Morgan Stanley and Barclays, is set to trade on Nasdaq, providing investors with a high-yield investment linked to bitcoin's performance.
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Halliday, an AI-focused blockchain protocol, has successfully raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz's crypto division. The capital will be used to advance the development of their Agentic Workflow Protocol (AWP), which seeks to revolutionize the creation of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications by bypassing the traditional requirement for smart contract programming. According to Halliday, this innovation could drastically reduce the time needed to develop blockchain applications, potentially from years to mere hours. This shift from smart contract-based development to AI-driven workflows is expected to enhance blockchain's accessibility, scalability, and efficiency. The funding round also saw participation from other notable investors like Avalanche Blizzard Fund, Credibly Neutral, and Alt Layer, following a previous seed round in 2022. This move is part of Halliday's broader mission to usher in a new era of blockchain software development.
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The article discusses the volatility patterns in the bitcoin market, particularly highlighting the day of the week and the month that have shown the most significant price fluctuations. According to Amberdata, Tuesdays have been the most volatile day for bitcoin trading in 2025, with an average realized volatility of 82 over the past month. This volatility is measured by the standard deviation of returns from the market's mean return, indicating past price movements. In contrast, implied volatility reflects market expectations of future price swings. The article also notes that March 2024 had the highest monthly volatility since the beginning of the year, with a realized volatility of 67. Following a 30% drawdown from its all-time high, bitcoin's one-month annualized daily realized volatility nearly hit 70, a level only seen twice before in similar circumstances in March and August 2024. This information underscores the unpredictable nature of cryptocurrency markets and the importance of understanding volatility for traders.
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The article discusses the changing dynamics of the cryptocurrency market, particularly focusing on Bitcoin's increasing dominance since 2023. Despite a slight decrease from its peak, Bitcoin's market share remains high at around 61.6%. This rise in dominance comes amidst a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty, which has disproportionately affected altcoins due to their higher risk and lower liquidity. The market has also seen an overwhelming influx of new tokens, with over 12.7 million unique digital assets now listed, many of which are low-cap or meme coins. This saturation has led analysts to question the future of "altcoin season," where investors typically rotate profits from Bitcoin into riskier altcoins. The presence of Bitcoin ETFs has further siloed liquidity, reducing the capital available for altcoins. The article suggests that the traditional cycle of investor rotation into altcoins might be fading, with the market dynamics shifting due to these new financial instruments and the sheer volume of new cryptocurrencies competing for attention and investment.
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Bitcoin's price hovered around its 200-day average of $84,000 as a significant whale exited a multimillion dollar short position, while smaller cryptocurrencies like CAKE, TKX, OKB, and ATOM contributed to market optimism with positive performances. Despite a 6% surge on Monday, the SUI token struggled to maintain its momentum, influenced by asset managers' ETF filings with the SEC, indicating growing institutional interest in the crypto market. U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETFs saw a notable influx of $275 million on Monday, marking the first back-to-back inflows since February 7, suggesting a potential exhaustion in ETF-driven selling pressure. Analysts are divided on the sustainability of the recent bitcoin price bounce, with some predicting a bearish or sideways market for the next 6-12 months. The upcoming Federal Reserve rate decision could introduce volatility, with expectations of bitcoin trading within a range of $80,000 to $86,000. Meanwhile, traditional markets showed mixed reactions, with European stocks edging higher and gold remaining firm above $3,000 per ounce.
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On March 18, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju announced on X that the Bitcoin bull cycle has concluded, predicting a bearish or sideways market trend for the next 6-12 months. Ju supported his claim with on-chain metrics, including the Profit and Loss (PnL) Index Cyclical Signals, which currently suggest selling Bitcoin. He also presented a Principal Component Analysis chart showing that the 365-day moving average (MA) of Bitcoin's price is significantly lower than its real-time price points since mid-2023, indicating no upward trend. Despite these bearish signals, Ju plans to hold his Bitcoin without shorting it. However, his outlook contrasts with other market sentiments; for instance, a millionaire trader predicted Bitcoin could hit $100,000 by the end of March, and another analyst expected a rally due to an increase in global M2 money supply. At the time of the report, Bitcoin was trading at $82,355.47 with a market cap of $1.6 trillion.
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Dogecoin (DOGE) has experienced a significant depreciation of 38.43% over the past month, trading at approximately $0.1666, which is 70% below its peak price of $0.48 in December 2024. Despite this downturn, on-chain data indicates a positive trend with an increase in wallets holding over 1 million DOGE by 1.24% since February, suggesting that major investors see the current price as an opportunity for accumulation, potentially anticipating a price recovery. Additionally, the number of active Dogecoin addresses has surged to over 150,000 daily, the highest since mid-November, which could signal growing adoption and utilization of the cryptocurrency. This increased network activity might pave the way for a price stabilization or recovery. However, the immediate market sentiment remains bearish, with Dogecoin showing continuous declines on the 5-minute chart, though a key support level at $0.165 could influence future price movements.
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Level, a stablecoin protocol, has successfully raised an additional $2.6 million in venture capital, led by Dragonfly Capital and Polychain, to expand its $80 million yield-paying stablecoin, lvlUSD. This funding round follows a previous $3.4 million raise, bringing the total venture capital funding to $6 million. The protocol aims to capitalize on the increasing demand for yield-generating digital assets amidst a cooling crypto market. Level's lvlUSD token differentiates itself by offering yield through decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols like Aave, with an annualized yield of 8.3% for staked tokens. The protocol has integrated with several DeFi platforms, enhancing its utility and attractiveness to investors. With plans to expand its team and marketing, Level is targeting a significant increase in its market cap, aiming for $200-$250 million. This move is part of a broader trend where new stablecoins are gaining popularity by offering yields, unlike traditional stablecoins like Tether, which do not share profits with users.
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The cryptocurrency market showed minimal volatility on Tuesday, with major tokens like dogecoin and XRP experiencing slight declines. The broader market, as indicated by the CoinDesk 20 Index, also saw a minor decrease. The market's subdued activity is largely attributed to anticipation around the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, where the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision could significantly impact risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. Analysts expect rates to remain unchanged, but any indication of future policy shifts by Fed Chair Jerome Powell could influence market sentiment. A hawkish stance might pressure bitcoin and altcoins further, while dovish comments could lead to a market rally. Additionally, broader market conditions, including elevated volatility and geopolitical tensions, contribute to the cautious sentiment among investors. The potential for capital rotation from U.S. markets to European and Chinese markets, as suggested by QCP Capital, adds another layer of complexity to the crypto market dynamics.
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Financial technology and cryptocurrency companies are increasingly seeking to become state or national banks under the Trump administration, which they view as more supportive of their industry. This move is driven by the potential for easier regulatory approval, lower capital costs, and increased business credibility. The interest in bank charters has grown as firms anticipate a more deregulatory environment that could facilitate business expansion. Despite the slow pace of charter approvals in recent years, with only four new banks approved in 2023, there's optimism due to new regulatory appointments signaling a focus on innovation and technology. However, the process remains challenging, requiring significant capital and adherence to strict regulations like anti-money laundering laws. The administration's push for a pro-growth stance might encourage more competition in the banking sector, although the rigorous licensing processes could still delay new entrants.
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Gold has reached an unprecedented high of over $3,025 per ounce, marking a significant 15% increase since the beginning of the year. This surge contrasts sharply with Bitcoin, which has seen a 10% decline year-to-date. Several elements have propelled gold's rally, including substantial investments in gold ETFs, its traditional status as a safe-haven during geopolitical tensions, and the potential for new U.S. tariffs under President Trump. Gold's performance has been stellar, with a 40% year-over-year increase, far surpassing Bitcoin's modest 16% gain. Historically, gold and Bitcoin tend to move in opposite directions, with gold often leading the charge before Bitcoin catches up. The current market dynamics echo a similar pattern observed from 2019 to 2020, where gold initially surged, followed by Bitcoin. However, with rising global interest rates in 2022, both assets experienced pressure before rebounding in subsequent years. ByteTree's Charlie Morris highlights this as a significant gold rush, reminiscent of the market conditions in 2011 when Bitcoin was just beginning to gain attention.
