Steven Walgenbach

Partial Government Shutdown Begins as Congress Signals Deal Is Within Reach
The U.S. government has entered a partial shutdown after Congress missed a midnight deadline to finalize a spending package, allowing funding to lapse across several major federal departments, including defense, health, and foreign affairs. Federal agencies have begun implementing shutdown procedures, furloughing nonessential workers while maintaining essential services as lawmakers work toward a resolution.
Despite the lapse, congressional leaders emphasized that the shutdown is expected to be temporary. The Senate approved a revised funding package late Friday that would finance most federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year, while extending funding for the Department of Homeland Security for two additional weeks to allow further negotiations on proposed reforms.
The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives, which recessed before the deadline and is expected to vote on the package shortly after returning to Washington. The White House has endorsed the deal, adding pressure on House lawmakers to act quickly to restore full funding.
The standoff shows how broader policy disputes—particularly around immigration enforcement—are increasingly shaping budget negotiations, even when Congress appears close to agreement. For now, Washington is bracing for a short-term disruption as both parties seek to break the impasse and prevent a prolonged shutdown.
#USPolitics #GovernmentShutdown #Congress

Bitcoin Slides Toward Two-Month Lows as Warsh Fed Pick Leaves Markets Unconvinced
#Bitcoin traded near its weakest levels in two months after Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, a move that failed to provide the policy clarity or confidence boost many crypto investors had been hoping for. While Warsh has recently aligned with Trump’s calls for lower interest rates, his history as a traditional central banker with a cautious stance on inflation has left markets unsure how aggressively he would ease policy once in office.
The uncertainty comes at a fragile moment for digital assets. Bitcoin remains more than 30% below its recent peak, with sustained outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin #ETFs signaling ongoing institutional caution. Risk sentiment has also deteriorated more broadly, with investors gravitating toward gold and other traditional safe-haven assets as geopolitical and macroeconomic pressures persist. The divergence has reignited debate over Bitcoin’s role as “digital gold,” particularly as its performance continues to lag precious metals.
At the same time, heavy liquidations across crypto derivatives markets underscore how quickly optimism has unwound, amplifying downside pressure during periods of thinning liquidity. While some buyers are emerging at current levels, traders remain wary that a break below key support could open the door to further volatility in the days ahead.
#CryptoMarkets #MacroEconomy $BTC

Tether’s $10B Profit Year Highlights the Rising Power of Stablecoins
#Tether wrapped up 2025 with more than $10 billion in net profit, capping a year defined by rapid growth in USDT circulation and a balance sheet increasingly anchored by traditional financial assets. USDT supply expanded to over $186 billion, reinforcing its position as the dominant digital dollar in global crypto markets and cross-border payments.
A key driver behind Tether’s profitability was its expanding exposure to U.S. Treasuries, which reached historic levels and placed the company among the world’s largest holders of U.S. government debt. The firm also continued to diversify its reserves through significant allocations to gold and bitcoin, highlighting a strategy that blends liquidity, yield, and long-term value preservation.
The latest figures come as stablecoins play a growing role in global finance, moving beyond trading pairs into payments, remittances, and institutional settlement. At the same time, regulators are sharpening their focus on reserve quality and transparency, particularly in the United States. Against that backdrop, Tether is entering 2026 with a strengthened balance sheet and an expanding footprint in the U.S. market, underscoring how stablecoins are becoming a structural component of the digital financial system.
#Stablecoins #CryptoMarkets #DigitalFinance

Gold’s Historic Valuation Signal Raises Late-Cycle Warning
Cathie Wood, CEO of #ARK Invest, says gold may be approaching a late-cycle peak after the metal’s total market value relative to U.S. M2 money supply reached an all-time high. The ratio has now exceeded levels seen during the 1980 inflation crisis and even matched extremes recorded during the Great Depression in 1934 — periods associated with major monetary and market disruptions.
Wood noted that today’s economic environment differs significantly from those historical eras, with neither double-digit inflation nor severe monetary contraction present. She added that while central banks have diversified reserves away from the U.S. dollar in recent years, Treasury yields have cooled from their 2023 highs, which could change the macro balance if the dollar strengthens. According to Wood, parabolic price moves often occur near the end of asset cycles, and in her view, the current bubble risk may be forming in gold rather than in artificial intelligence.
#Gold #MacroMarkets #Investing

Strategy Shares Slide as Bitcoin Selloff Tightens Corporate Treasury Margin
Shares of Strategy dropped more than 9% in the past 24 hours as Bitcoin fell roughly 6% to around $82,000. The decline has pushed Bitcoin to within less than $10,000 of the company’s average purchase price across its long-term BTC accumulation strategy that began in 2020.
The move highlights how closely corporate treasury strategies tied to digital assets remain linked to real-time market sentiment. As the largest public corporate holder of Bitcoin, the company’s share price often reacts more aggressively than the underlying asset during sharp market swings, particularly when price levels approach key psychological thresholds tied to long-term cost basis levels.
The latest market move comes amid broader crypto volatility, reinforcing how corporate balance sheets exposed to Bitcoin can experience amplified equity volatility during periods of rapid downside price action.
#Bitcoin #CryptoMarkets #CryptoNews $BTC #MSTR

Europe’s Digital Genesis Fund Launches To Power Web3 And AI Infrastructure
The Digital Genesis Fund has officially launched as a new European investment platform focused on real-world infrastructure for the digital age. Structured as a Luxembourg SICAV-RAIF, the fund combines institutional investment structures with Web3, tokenization, and AI-driven value creation.
The platform debuts with its first active compartment built around MILC, an operational media infrastructure ecosystem that integrates tokenized intellectual property, AI-supported production and distribution, and a global creator economy model. MILC enters the portfolio with approximately €20 million in pre-financing and a contributed content library valued at around €35 million, providing a foundation for international expansion.
The fund is supported by an institutional framework including regulated fund management, depositary, auditing, and legal structuring partners, positioning it to deploy long-term capital into infrastructure sectors where emerging technologies are transforming real-world industries.
The launch marks the first phase of a broader platform strategy, with additional infrastructure and technology compartments planned as the Digital Genesis Fund expands across multiple digital economy verticals.
#Web3 #Tokenization #DigitalInfrastructure

Ripple is quietly making a serious play for the corporate back office.
This week, the company launched a new corporate treasury platform that blends traditional cash management with blockchain and stablecoin settlement — aiming to solve problems treasurers have lived with for decades, like multi-day settlement cycles, limited visibility across accounts, and idle cash sitting untouched over nights and weekends.
The idea isn’t to replace existing treasury workflows, but to plug digital asset rails directly into them. By shortening settlement times to minutes and enabling stablecoin-based cross-border payments, Ripple is positioning corporate finance teams for a world where markets no longer shut down at 5 p.m.
What’s notable is the timing. As regulators and market infrastructure providers push toward tokenization and 24/7 settlement, Ripple’s move suggests enterprise adoption may arrive not through trading desks — but through treasury operations.
Corporate cash is already there. The rails are changing.
#Ripple #InstitutionalAdoption $XRP

World Network’s $WLD token jumped more than 27% this week after a report suggested the project could align with OpenAI’s broader efforts to tackle bots and AI-generated accounts online.
The report didn’t confirm any formal partnership, but it was enough to put biometric identity back at the center of the conversation. As generative AI continues to flood social platforms with synthetic accounts, the question of how to prove someone is actually human is becoming harder to ignore.
World Network, co-founded by Sam Altman, has long argued that proof-of-personhood will be critical in an AI-heavy internet. That vision has also drawn controversy, particularly around biometric data and privacy, and has already attracted regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries.
Still, the market reaction highlights how seriously investors are taking the identity problem in the age of #AI — and how closely World Network’s fortunes remain tied to that debate.
Whether biometric verification becomes a standard layer of the internet or remains a niche experiment, one thing is clear: the fight against bots is moving from theory to infrastructure.
#Worldcoin #WLD

Arthur Hayes is once again sounding the macro alarm — and this time, he says the signal for the next major crypto rally won’t come from Bitcoin charts, but from the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet.
In his latest blog, Hayes argues that Japan’s weakening yen and rising JGB yields have created the financial equivalent of an avalanche warning — a “woomph” beneath the global system that policymakers can’t ignore. He believes the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve may soon intervene to stabilize the yen and suppress JGB yields, using foreign-asset purchases that quietly expand the Fed’s balance sheet.
The key, he says, is to watch one specific line in the weekly H.4.1 report: Foreign Currency Denominated Assets.
If that number begins rising, Hayes interprets it as confirmation that the Fed is effectively “printing” through FX operations — even if officials deny it’s QE.
If and when that inflection appears, Hayes plans to increase exposure to Bitcoin as well as select altcoins he believes will benefit most from renewed liquidity: Zcash, ENA, ETHFI, LDO, and Pendle.
Hayes ties the analysis back to the structural link between Japan and the U.S. treasury market. With Japan holding trillions in foreign bonds, failure to support the yen could force Japanese capital back home — triggering Treasury sell-offs, higher yields, and rising U.S. funding stress. In his view, a coordinated intervention is not optional; it’s self-preservation.
Until the signal flashes, Hayes says he’s positioned defensively and watching the data closely. But once the Fed’s foreign asset holdings start climbing, he expects Bitcoin and select altcoins to “mechanically levitate” as global liquidity turns.
#CryptoMarkets #ArthurHayes #MacroAnalysis #yen

Bitwise is issuing one of its clearest warnings yet about the future of U.S. crypto — and the message is simple: the clock is ticking.
In a new analysis, the firm argues that continued uncertainty around the Clarity Act could shape the industry’s trajectory for years. With the bill’s progress stalling in Congress, Bitwise says the sector now faces a three-year window to prove its real-world value and become indispensable across the U.S. economy.
Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s CIO, says that without the Clarity Act, crypto remains exposed to shifting political winds and regulatory ambiguity. Market expectations have already cooled — Polymarket odds on the bill’s passage have dropped sharply.
Hougan draws comparisons to breakthrough platforms like Uber and Airbnb, which secured their longevity by scaling so quickly that regulators had to adapt around them. Crypto, he argues, needs to follow the same playbook: become too useful and too widely adopted to ignore.
If that happens, a major repricing of the entire sector could follow.
If not, prolonged uncertainty may keep markets stuck in a “wait and see” environment where only meaningful adoption creates momentum.
For investors, Bitwise recommends positioning around Bitcoin exposure, strong balance-sheet companies, and cash-flowing infrastructure — and taking caution around regulatory-sensitive areas like DeFi, exchanges, and smaller altcoins.
With the Clarity Act in limbo, Bitwise’s message is clear:
regulation won’t unlock the next growth cycle — real utility will.
#CryptoRegulation #Bitwise #CLARITYAct

A new PayPal survey is painting a clear picture of where U.S. payments are headed — and crypto is rapidly moving from the fringe to the checkout counter.
According to the data, nearly 40% of U.S. merchants now accept cryptocurrency payments, a shift driven overwhelmingly by customer demand.
PayPal’s VP May Zabaneh says the trend is unmistakable: crypto payments aren’t an experiment anymore — they’re becoming part of everyday commerce. Once businesses flip the switch, many report real benefits in speed, flexibility, and customer engagement.
What’s even more striking is merchant confidence in the future.
84% believe crypto payments will become mainstream within five years, and major brands like Starbucks, Walmart, and Home Depot are already ahead of the curve.
Among merchants already using crypto, digital asset payments make up an average 26% of total sales, suggesting that consumers will spend crypto when given the opportunity. Younger demographics, especially Millennials and Gen Z, continue to drive the trend across industries like travel, digital goods, hospitality, and gaming.
To meet the demand, PayPal recently expanded its crypto checkout tools, allowing U.S. businesses to accept over 100 different cryptocurrencies — but the company stresses that mass adoption hinges on making crypto as easy as a credit card swipe.
As Ripple’s Stu Alderoty puts it: “Interest isn’t the problem — understanding is.”
With infrastructure improving and consumer demand accelerating, crypto payments are quickly moving toward the mainstream reality merchants have been predicting for years.
#CryptoPayments #Fintech #DigitalCommerce #Stablecoins

Ethereum is gearing up for one of its most significant AI-focused upgrades yet — and it could reshape how autonomous agents operate across the entire Web3 ecosystem.
This week, the network is preparing to deploy ERC-8004, a new trustless AI agent standard developed by MetaMask’s AI team, led by Marco De Rossi. The standard introduces a unified way for AI agents to register, discover, and verify one another without relying on centralized intermediaries — a major unlock for decentralized, autonomous systems.
While protocols like MCP and Agent2Agent already handle communication and skill-sharing between agents, they don’t solve the hardest parts:
How do you discover agents you can trust? And how do you verify them across networks?
ERC-8004 fills that gap. By creating a shared discovery and credibility layer, it makes it possible for AI agents to interact, coordinate, and transact across organizations — all while inheriting Ethereum’s security guarantees.
The Ethereum Foundation has confirmed the rollout is “coming soon,” and developers say mainnet deployment could happen as early as Thursday.
For Ethereum, ERC-8004 is more than just another technical standard. It strengthens the chain’s emerging role as the settlement, trust, and coordination layer for decentralized AI — positioning it at the center of an increasingly interoperable agent economy.
#AI #Web3 #AutonomousAgents $ETH

Eco CEO Ryne Saxe is raising a red flag over the Senate’s new stablecoin proposal — and the implications go well beyond yield.
Saxe argues that the bill’s ban on passive stablecoin interest effectively hands banks a structural advantage while limiting what U.S. fintechs and DeFi apps can offer. And instead of improving consumer protection, he warns it could push everyday users toward offshore platforms and fully on-chain DeFi, where U.S. rules have little reach.
One of his biggest concerns:
Crypto frontends — apps, wallets, and interfaces — may become the new regulatory chokepoint.
Saxe says builders have long anticipated that regulators would shift focus from protocols to interfaces, but the bill formalizes it. That means any company controlling a user interface will face heavier compliance expectations, even as the underlying protocols remain decentralized and globally accessible.
He also points out that the yield ban gives traditional banks a clear competitive edge. While banks keep their deposit base, innovative retail fintech models lose one of their core value propositions — a dynamic he describes as “an artificial limitation” on what stablecoins are allowed to do.
At the same time, global liquidity won’t slow down. DeFi protocols operate regardless of borders, and Saxe notes that trying to suppress programmatic yield in one jurisdiction simply isn’t practical.
Still, he says the U.S. won’t lose its leadership overnight thanks to strong network effects — but warns that jurisdictions like Singapore, Hong Kong, and the EU now offer clearer, more innovation-friendly stablecoin rules.
And the bill’s narrow exception for “activity-based rewards”?
Saxe believes issuers will quickly build systems that effectively replicate yield, making the carve-out “rather easy” to game.
As the debate intensifies, Saxe’s message is clear:
Regulation that limits domestic innovation doesn’t protect consumers — it just pushes them elsewhere.
#Stablecoins #CryptoRegulation #DeFi

Tether just made one of its biggest moves in years — and the digital dollar landscape may never look the same.
This week, the company unveiled USA₮, the first federally regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin designed specifically for the U.S. market under the GENIUS Act. It’s issued through Anchorage Digital Bank, the first nationally chartered stablecoin bank in the country, and backed by Cantor Fitzgerald as reserve custodian.
In simple terms:
USDT remains the global giant. USA₮ is the U.S.-compliant heavyweight built for institutions.
Analysts say this could be the strongest challenge yet to Circle’s USDC, which has long dominated the regulated American stablecoin arena. With institutional infrastructure, banking-grade compliance, and former White House Crypto Council executive Bo Hines leading the U.S. division, USA₮ is stepping directly into territory USDC has had almost entirely to itself.
Commentators point to several shifts this could trigger:
👉 A new era of institutional-first stablecoins
👉 Increased competition around regulatory alignment—not just liquidity
👉 Stronger on-ramps for enterprises seeking a fully compliant digital dollar
👉 A broader strategic push as Tether becomes one of the world’s major U.S. Treasury holders
While USA₮ isn’t legal tender and doesn’t carry FDIC or SIPC protection, it represents the first token engineered from day one around a federal framework — a milestone for the U.S. digital asset market.
Whether USA₮ rebalances the stablecoin hierarchy or simply expands the field, 2026 now has a serious contender in the race to define America’s digital dollar.
#Tether #USAT #Stablecoins #DigitalDollar

Japan Takes a Major Step Toward Institutional Bitcoin Adoption
Animoca Brands Japan has entered a strategic collaboration with RootstockLabs to bring Bitcoin-native, institutional-grade treasury infrastructure to Japanese corporations. This partnership will localize Rootstock’s institutional program for the Japanese market, giving enterprises access to on-chain financial tools secured by Bitcoin’s proof-of-work and supported by Rootstock’s EVM-compatible smart contract ecosystem.
With more Japanese companies beginning to view #Bitcoin as a long-term strategic asset, this initiative aims to help corporations move beyond passive $BTC holdings and adopt more sophisticated digital asset treasury strategies — from BTC-backed borrowing to institutional-grade yield opportunities. Rootstock’s eight-year record of 100% uptime and merged-mined security model positions it as a compelling option for risk-aware enterprises navigating Japan’s strict regulatory environment.
Through this collaboration, Animoca Brands Japan will leverage its Digital Asset Treasury Management Support Service to help companies evaluate Bitcoin-centric financial strategies aligned with their governance, compliance, and operational requirements. As Japan’s institutional interest in digital assets accelerates, this partnership could play a central role in shaping the country’s next phase of Bitcoin adoption.
#InstitutionalCrypto #JapanCrypto #AnimocaBrands

Tether has just released its newest attestation for Tether Gold (XAU₮), and the numbers are catching a lot of attention. The report confirms that XAU₮ is now backed 1:1 by more than 520,000 ounces of Swiss-vaulted gold—while also accounting for over half of the entire gold-backed stablecoin market.
What’s even more interesting is how big Tether’s gold footprint has become. With these reserves, the company now ranks among the world’s top 30 gold holders, ahead of several countries. The attestation also highlights that Tether added 27 metric tons of gold in Q4 alone, outpacing the buying activity of many central banks.
For anyone tracking real-world asset tokenization, this attestation is another sign that gold-backed stablecoins aren’t just a niche idea—they’re quickly becoming part of mainstream digital finance. The combination of Swiss custody, transparent reporting, and on-chain verification is resonating with both institutions and individual investors looking for safer, asset-backed options.
The full attestation report offers a detailed snapshot of where XAU₮ stands as demand for tokenized gold accelerates.
#TetherGold #Tokenization #DigitalAssets

New data from Santiment is painting an interesting picture of where investor confidence is shifting right now.
According to the analytics platform, more than $2.24 billion has exited the stablecoin market over the past 10 days — a sign that many traders are stepping back from crypto and leaning into traditional safe havens instead.
#Gold just broke $5,000, #silver has doubled in value, and even major players like Tether have been piling into physical gold. Meanwhile, #Bitcoin and the broader market have been struggling to regain momentum after October’s massive liquidation event.
Santiment notes that stablecoin flows are often one of the best indicators of future crypto strength. When stablecoin market caps fall, it usually means capital is leaving the ecosystem rather than sitting on the sidelines waiting to buy dips.
In other words: liquidity is thinning, and that could delay any meaningful market recovery until those flows reverse.
For now, Bitcoin is holding up better than most #altcoins — but without stablecoin growth, upside across the market remains limited.
One thing’s clear: the next phase of crypto’s rebound may depend on when (and if) stablecoin capital starts flowing back in.
$BTC

BlackRock is taking another big step into crypto ETFs — and this time, it’s all about income.
The firm has filed for the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, an actively managed fund that would hold Bitcoin (directly or through IBIT) and generate yield by selling call options on that exposure. It’s a classic covered-call strategy, but applied to one of the most volatile and in-demand assets in the market.
What makes this interesting is BlackRock’s timing. #IBIT has already become a massive success, with more than $69B in assets, and now the firm is looking to capture investors who want cash flow from their Bitcoin exposure — not just price appreciation.
The tradeoff, of course, is that covered-call products limit upside during big rallies. But for income-focused investors, especially in today’s choppy macro environment, the idea of turning Bitcoin volatility into regular distributions is likely to get a lot of attention.
It’s early days — the ETF doesn’t yet have a ticker or fee — but BlackRock’s move signals that crypto income products are about to get a lot more competitive.
#Bitcoin #CryptoNews #ETFs

#Metaplanet just reminded the market how wild the Bitcoin treasury game can be.
The Tokyo-listed firm is preparing to report a massive 2025 loss—almost $700 million—thanks entirely to a non-cash Bitcoin write-down triggered by year-end mark-to-market rules. On paper, it looks brutal.
But here’s the twist: Metaplanet’s actual business is doing far better than expected.
Its Bitcoin income operation blew past projections in Q4, pushing full-year revenue higher and prompting the company to raise its 2025 and 2026 forecasts.
Even more striking, Metaplanet grew its BTC holdings from 1,762 to more than 35,000 BTC in one year, boosting per-share Bitcoin exposure by over 500%.
So yes, the 2025 headline number will be ugly—but the underlying trend is the opposite. The company is leaning deeper into its Bitcoin strategy and expects 2026 to be a breakout year, with revenue projected to hit $103 million.
A fascinating contrast: huge accounting loss today, but aggressive growth and conviction for tomorrow.
#Bitcoin #CryptoNews $BTC

There’s a noticeable shift happening in the UK’s approach to crypto — and the FCA just made it even clearer.
The regulator has moved into the final stage of its consultation process, asking for feedback on 10 proposed rules that could define how the UK’s digital asset market operates for years to come. It’s part of a broader government roadmap that aims to bring crypto closer to the standards of traditional finance without shutting the door on innovation.
What’s interesting is how the #FCA is framing it: they don’t want to eliminate risk entirely (because that’s impossible), but they do want a market where companies behave responsibly and investors know exactly what they’re signing up for.
Meanwhile, the long-anticipated licensing regime is on the horizon. The FCA expects the application window to open in September 2026, meaning every crypto firm wanting to operate legally in the UK will need formal authorization. That’s a major shake-up — especially in a market where the FCA has historically approved only a small fraction of applicants.
For now, the industry has until March 12 to give feedback. After that, the rulebook starts taking its final shape. The UK isn’t just talking about becoming a global crypto hub — it’s laying down the regulatory architecture to actually make it happen.
#CryptoNews #UKFinance #DigitalAssets