Author: Saanjana Nikita
The cryptocurrency market experienced a volatile but ultimately positive week, with major developments including fresh investment activity around OKX, Kraken securing a Federal Reserve master account, and a $10 million settlement between Justin Sun and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Global attention has also been fixed on escalating tensions in the Middle East. Late last week, the situation intensified dramatically when Israel and the United States launched a coordinated military operation targeting Iran. The offensive began with a series of airstrikes early Saturday. Iran responded quickly, and the conflict has continued to intensify throughout the week. Despite the reported…
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has directed several KuCoin-linked companies to immediately cease operations, stating the crypto exchange has been offering services without the required authorization while allegedly misrepresenting its regulatory standing. The directive targets four separate entities associated with the KuCoin brand. Authorities also ordered the exchange to halt all marketing, promotion, or solicitation aimed at residents of Dubai. The move comes shortly after Austria’s financial regulator took action against the exchange’s European operations, suggesting growing scrutiny of the platform across multiple jurisdictions. Why this matters Users in Dubai could face potential financial risk if they hold funds…
Growing geopolitical tensions during the first week of March have pushed investors toward safer assets, helping the US dollar gain strength while many global markets struggle. Stocks in several regions and even traditional safe assets like precious metals have experienced downward pressure. Market analysts say that if the current environment continues, it could limit the amount of capital flowing into riskier investments such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Safe-Haven Demand Drives the Dollar Higher Throughout 2025 and the beginning of 2026, the US dollar weakened considerably. The US Dollar Index (DXY) dropped sharply and reached roughly 96 in January 2026,…
A group of cryptocurrency wallets reportedly earned about $1.2 million on the prediction platform Polymarket after wagering that the United States would strike Iran on February 28. Blockchain investigators later discovered that several of the wallets appeared to be linked and had a history of accurately predicting military actions involving both the U.S. and Israel. The situation has intensified concerns about possible insider trading on prediction markets, where anonymous accounts and easy access can allow traders with privileged information to profit before events become public. Highly Timed Bets Raise Questions According to analysis by blockchain monitoring firm Bubblemaps, six wallets…
Researchers from Google have identified a sophisticated hacking toolkit capable of secretly breaking into iPhones and stealing cryptocurrency from widely used wallet applications. The toolkit, named Coruna, targets several well-known crypto wallets such as MetaMask, Phantom, and Trust Wallet. Victims do not need to download anything or tap suspicious links; simply opening a compromised or fraudulent website on a vulnerable iPhone can activate the attack. Vulnerable iPhones Devices running iOS 17.2.1 or earlier are exposed to the exploit. Apple fixed the vulnerabilities in iOS 17.3, which was released in January 2024. Once the exploit runs, the toolkit scans a device’s…
A recent U.S. military operation targeting Iran heightened geopolitical uncertainty and rattled investors worldwide. But according to Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, the episode also underscored a structural advantage of cryptocurrency markets: they never close. With major global exchanges shut for the weekend, blockchain-based trading platforms became the only major venues offering real-time price discovery. Closed Exchanges Created a Gap; Crypto Filled It In a client note titled “The Weekend That Changed Finance,” Hougan explained that when President Trump announced the strike early Sunday morning (2:30 a.m. ET), most traditional financial markets were offline. Equity markets, futures exchanges,…
Core Scientific recently revealed plans to liquidate most of its Bitcoin holdings to support its expansion into artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing. The decision highlights a growing shift within the Bitcoin mining sector while also raising fresh questions about the long-term role of corporate Bitcoin treasuries during periods of market weakness. Core Scientific Sells Bitcoin to Fund Expansion Earlier this week, Core Scientific confirmed it would allocate proceeds from recent Bitcoin sales toward building out its data center infrastructure. According to its latest 10-K filing, the firm sold 1,924 Bitcoin between December and February, generating approximately $176 million in…
On March 2, 2026, Binance announced that Opinion (OPN) will become the 72nd project featured on its Launchpool platform. The introduction of OPN has drawn significant attention due to its focus on building infrastructure for sharing market insights, forecasts, and sentiment data. Users will be able to farm OPN tokens by staking eligible assets for 48 hours beginning March 3 at 00:00 UTC. Spot trading is scheduled to go live on March 5, 2026, at 13:00 UTC. The token will carry a seed tag, signaling that it represents an early-stage and potentially high-volatility project. What Is Opinion (OPN)? Opinion (OPN)…
Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck, believes Bitcoin may be approaching the end of its current downturn. He links the recent weakness to the cryptocurrency’s well-known four-year halving cycle. That view, however, is not universally accepted. Some analysts question whether Bitcoin’s traditional cycle still plays a dominant role in price movements, suggesting broader macroeconomic forces may now have greater influence. Why Some See a Bottom Forming In a recent appearance on Power Lunch on CNBC, van Eck emphasized Bitcoin’s fixed supply of 21 million coins and its programmed halving events as the foundation of its long-term behavior. According to him,…
Mentions of “World War 3” are exploding across crypto-focused social media, according to insights from on-chain analytics provider Santiment. The level of discussion has climbed to its highest point since June 2025, signaling a sharp rise in anxiety among online traders. The timing is notable. The surge follows coordinated military strikes involving the United States and Israel against Iran, along with retaliatory missile and drone attacks across parts of the Gulf. While the worst-case scenario dominates online chatter, price action suggests traders are reacting very differently with their capital. Rising Geopolitical Tensions Fuel Online Fear The renewed conflict has reopened…