Weekly Rollup - March 10, 2026

Market highlights

• Crypto markets saw mid-week strength, but declined on continued risk-off sentiment.
• Ethereum’s validator entry queue reached 3.4 million ETH—a 60-day wait.
• Kraken secured approval for a Federal Reserve “master account”.
• The CFTC appointed crypto defence attorney David Miller to lead its enforcement division.
• Tether released the first reserve attestation for the new U.S. stablecoin USAT.
• Florida’s Senate passed SB 314, establishing a state framework for regulating stablecoins.

Macro market overview

Risk assets continued their decline this week as oil prices rose. Oil reached US$100 per barrel over the weekend due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices have since declined to around US$87 per barrel. Weak U.S. employment data, including a -92,000 non-farm employment change for February versus a forecast +58,000 and the unemployment rate reaching 4.4%, are presumably adding to risk-off sentiment. President Trump says ending the war will be a “mutual decision” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Amongst other assets, gold and silver saw losses, declining by 3.8% and 13.5% on the week, respectively. In contrast, U.S. Treasury Yields spiked. The ten-year yield closed the week just over 4.1%, while the two-year yield gained to almost 3.6%. Since the joint U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran started from February 26, the U.S. Dollar Index has gained 2%, signalling the currency’s relative strength as global markets face weakness due to the economic and geopolitical uncertainty posed by the conflict. CME’s FedWatch tool currently places the probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) meeting on March 18 at 2.7%.

U.S. stock futures declined into the new week, meaning there may be more downside across the major indexes when markets open. For the week ahead, market participants will presumably be monitoring the situation in the Middle East, fluctuations in oil prices as a result, the U.S. core consumer price index (CPI) on March 11 and U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index on March 13.

Weekly performance: S&P 500 -2%, Dow Jones -3%, Nasdaq -1.2%.

Looking ahead:

• U.S. core CPI - Wednesday, March 11
• U.S. core PCE index - Friday, March 13.

Crypto Market Performance

Market Cap: $2.36T (+2.3%)

Sector performance was mixed this week. Bridging services, social and smart contract platforms saw minor gains, while perpetual decentralised exchanges and real-world assets experienced small declines. The new week has seen a small gain across many cryptocurrencies, but the crypto fear and greed index is in fear territory at 22.

Bitcoin (BTC)

• Opened the week at US$65,771, gained to a weekly high of US$74,100 on Wednesday March 4, and declined throughout the remainder of the week on prevailing risk-off sentiment due to the Iran war and concerns over the geopolitical and economic impacts. Bitcoin saw a bid of 4.4% to start the new week and is now trading around US$68,965 (-0.7% 7D).
• BTC dominance ranged between 58.5% and 58.7% this week.
• Bitcoin investment products saw inflows of US$521 million.

Morgan Stanley’s amended filing for its proposed spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) named BNY Mellon and Coinbase Custody as custodians for the fund’s bitcoin holdings. The ETF still requires SEC approval. The bank has also signalled broader crypto ambitions, including plans to develop in-house bitcoin custody, trading and lending services for clients.

Bitcoin miner Core Scientific said it may sell most of its remaining bitcoin holdings to fund a strategic pivot to artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres. The company now holds fewer than 1,000 BTC after recent sales. Similarly, bitcoin miner MARA Holdings said it may sell additional bitcoin to fund operations and investments in AI and digital-infrastructure projects. The firm still expects its overall bitcoin holdings to rise over time through mining.

Vancouver city council staff recommended closing a proposal to hold bitcoin in municipal reserves after concluding the Vancouver Charter does not permit crypto as an allowable investment asset. The idea stemmed from Mayor Ken Sim’s push to explore making Vancouver “bitcoin-friendly,” but provincial rules prioritising capital preservation block municipalities from holding such assets.

In bitcoin buying news:

• Strategy bought 17,992 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 738,731 BTC at an average purchase price of US$75,862 per bitcoin.
• ProCap Financial purchased 450 BTC worth about US$31 million, bringing its total holdings to approximately US$376 million. The company also continued share buybacks to reduce the gap between its market value and asset value after recent stock price declines.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Ethereum (ETH)

• Opened the week at US$1,939, rallied to a weekly high of US$2,200 and declined below US$1,990 to end the week due to risk-off sentiment. The new week has seen some strength for Ethereum, gaining 4.6% to trade around US$2,030 (-0.9% 7D).
• Ethereum dominance ranged between 10.4% and 10.3% this week.
• Ethereum-focused funds saw inflows of US$88.5 million.

Corporates and crypto exchanges are increasingly staking Ethereum rather than selling, driving a surge in the validator entry queue to about 3.4 million ETH, roughly a 60-day backlog. Analysts say large holders are locking up tokens to earn yield while maintaining price exposure, signalling a more defensive institutional stance toward ETH and highlighting the network’s strength despite recent price weakness.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published a post on X this week, which urged developers to expand Ethereum’s mission beyond DeFi, advocating for “sanctuary technologies” such as privacy tools, decentralised coordination systems and open infrastructure. He said the network should help build resilient digital systems that reduce reliance on centralised platforms and create “digital islands of stability.”

In Ethereum buying news:

• BitMine bought 60,976 Ethereum, bringing its holdings to over 4.5 million ETH, worth US$9.1 billion.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Altcoins

The altcoin season index is currently 37, which is bitcoin season.

OK(X) gains

• OKB, OKX’s utility token gained 26.8%. The token surged about 38% after Intercontinental Exchange (parent of the New York Stock Exchange) invested in the crypto exchange at a US$25 billion valuation. The partnership aims to integrate traditional finance and crypto, potentially enabling tokenised NYSE stocks and derivatives trading on OKX from late 2026.

New ways to pay

• Cardano declined by 7.5%. The losses came despite news that the network’s ADA token is now accepted at 137 Spar supermarkets across Switzerland through integration with crypto payments platform DFX.swiss and its Open Crypto Pay standard. Shoppers can pay by scanning a QR code while merchants receive Swiss Francs.

Crypto ETF News

Digital asset investment products remained relatively strong this week, with inflows of US$619 million.

In altcoins, Solana saw inflows of US$14.6 million, while Uniswap and Chainklink each gained US$1.4 million of inflows. In contrast, XRP saw outflows of US$30.3 million.

Other crypto news

• President Trump urged Congress to advance crypto market-structure legislation, accusing major banks of undermining the industry. The dispute centres on whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yield without operating as banks. It’s a key sticking point stalling the CLARITY Act, which would also specify the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) oversight of digital assets.
• Crypto exchange Kraken secured approval for a Federal Reserve “master account” through its banking unit, granting access to the Fed’s core payment systems. The account allows Kraken to move fiat more efficiently between banks and crypto markets under a “skinny” master-account structure. Banking industry groups labelled it a “risky” move inconsistent. Also announced this week, Nasdaq will be partnering with Kraken to develop tokenised equities launching in H1 2027.
• The CFTC appointed crypto defence attorney David Miller to lead its enforcement division, which has experienced significant staff cuts under PresidentTrump. The agency is simultaneously seeking broader authority over crypto and prediction markets, even as enforcement activity and monetary penalties have dropped sharply in the past year.
• Florida’s Senate passed SB 314, establishing a state framework for regulating stablecoins and integrating them into existing anti-money-laundering laws by defining them as “monetary value.” The bill would allow state agencies to accept approved stablecoins for payments and create a pilot program exploring government use.
• Tether and Anchorage Digital released the first reserve attestation for the new U.S. stablecoin USAT, prepared by Deloitte. The report showed US$17.6 million in reserves held in cash and U.S. Treasuries against US$17.5 million in circulating tokens. The move reflects Tether’s effort to build a more compliant, U.S.-regulated stablecoin offering.
• Stablecoin infrastructure firm ZeroHash applied for a U.S. national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, seeking approval to offer digital-asset custody, stablecoin management, settlement and related services.
• Kazakhstan’s central bank plans to invest up to US$350 million from its gold and foreign-exchange reserves into crypto-related assets, including cryptocurrencies, digital-asset infrastructure firms and index-style products. Officials say the allocation will begin around April to May as part of the central bank’s diversification strategy.