1. Phong Le: Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF has huge potential; a 2% allocation could unlock $160 billion in demand.
Strategy CEO Phong Le wrote that Morgan Stanley's proposed spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) is a "huge bet on Bitcoin." He pointed out that Morgan Stanley manages $8 trillion in wealth, and if allocated to a moderate 2% allocation as recommended by Morgan Stanley, it would bring $160 billion in inflows to the market, roughly three times the size of BlackRock's IBIT.
2. Since October of last year, Altcoin trading volume has plummeted by 80%.
CryptoQuant data shows that since October 2025, Altcoin spot trading volume has experienced a precipitous drop. On Binance , Altcoin trading volume plummeted by 80% to 85%, from $40-50 billion, to a current level of only $7.7 billion; other exchanges also saw trading volumes fall from a peak of $91 billion to $18.8 billion. Analysts from institutions such as Arctic Digital generally believe that funds are concentrating on Bitcoin, and a full-blown "altcoin boom" like in 2021 is unlikely to recur. The market will instead shift towards localized rallies driven by specific narratives such as infrastructure or RWA. A substantial shift of funds into Altcoin is expected only after Bitcoin reaches the $120,000 to $130,000 range.
3. A retired person in Hong Kong fell victim to a series of cryptocurrency scams, losing a total of HK$6.6 million.
Hong Kong police have disclosed a cryptocurrency scam case in which a 66-year-old retiree was repeatedly deceived by a "cryptocurrency investment expert" since September 2025. After being defrauded of HK$1.4 million in the first instance, the victim paid another HK$600,000 as a deposit to another "expert" in an attempt to recover his losses. He was then lured into purchasing HK$4.6 million worth of cryptocurrency, which was transferred to a designated account. The scammers disappeared after receiving the money. Within six months, the victim's total losses reached HK$6.6 million before he finally reported the incident to the police. Police remind the public not to easily believe in "guaranteed profit" investments and so-called "loss recovery" services to avoid being scammed in a series of fraudulent schemes.
4. Ukraine plans to regulate political crypto donations and restrict Russian capital access to its virtual asset market.
The Ukrainian government plans to regulate crypto donations to political funds to prevent foreign influence over domestic politics through crypto assets. The National Securities and Stock Market Committee of Ukraine stated that the framework will introduce a "Travel Rule," requiring virtual asset service providers to report transaction information and restricting access to the domestic crypto market for participants linked to Russian capital. The Ukrainian parliament passed the "Virtual Asset Market Law" in its first reading in September 2025, which is expected to clarify the legal status and tax rules for digital assets.
5. SBF political donations used as a tool for attacks: AI industry Super PAC targets "pro-regulatory" candidate Alex Bores.
A Super PAC supporting the AI industry is using past political donations from FTX founder SBF as ammunition to attack New York Congressional candidate Alex Bores. Bores reportedly introduced a regulatory bill in the state legislature requiring large AI companies to release safety data. In retaliation, the AI industry's attack ads explicitly state that Bores received support from a group funded by "convicted felon Sam Bankman-Fried," thus questioning his qualifications to participate in developing AI safety policies. Analysts suggest that SBF's past political donations are becoming an effective tool for the AI industry to target pro-regulatory politicians in the 2026 election.
6. Wu Blockchain Zhou's Picks: Argentina's nationwide lockdown of Polymarket, Vietnam's proposed ban on overseas cryptocurrency platforms, Strategy's accelerated cryptocurrency purchases, and Top 10 news items.
Top 10 News Stories This Week
1. Nasdaq approved for a pilot program of security tokenization settlement, driving upgrades to traditional market infrastructure .
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved Nasdaq rule amendments allowing for the clearing and settlement of certain securities in token form under a Direct Trading Tokenization (DTC) pilot program. Eligible market participants can select tokenization as their settlement method through order tokens. The securities must have the same CUSIP, trading code, and rights and obligations as traditional securities and be traded in the same order book with the same priority. Initially, the program will include Russell 1000 constituent stocks and some major index ETFs.
2. The SEC has proposed a regulatory framework for crypto assets, including financing exemptions and safe harbor mechanisms, and clarifies asset classifications .
At the DC Blockchain Summit, U.S. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins stated that the SEC is advancing a framework for classifying crypto assets and interpreting investment contracts. This framework will divide digital assets into non-securities (such as digital goods, digital collectibles, digital instruments, and stablecoins compliant with the GENIUS Act) and digital securities, clarifying that their securities status can be terminated upon fulfillment of relevant commitments. Simultaneously, a "Crypto Asset Regulatory Framework" has been proposed, aiming to provide financing pathways through a safe harbor mechanism. This includes a startup exemption of up to approximately four years with a financing cap of approximately $5 million, and a financing exemption of up to approximately $75 million within 12 months. The safe harbor of investment contracts will apply after certain conditions are met. These rules are expected to enter the public comment phase.
3. A new SEC filing clarifies that 16 crypto assets, including BTC and ETH, are digital commodities and do not fall under the category of securities .
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) listed 16 examples of “digital commodities” in an explanatory document, including Aptos (APT), Avalanche (AVAX), Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ether (ETH), Hedera (HBAR), Litecoin (LTC), Polkadot (DOT), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Solana (SOL), Stellar (XLM), Tezos (XTZ), and XRP (XRP), and clarified that the above assets do not fall under the category of securities.
4. Vietnam plans to ban its citizens from trading cryptocurrencies on overseas platforms and will pilot the program on its domestic compliant exchange, Link, as early as this month.
Vietnam is drafting new regulations to ban its citizens from trading on overseas cryptocurrency platforms such as Binance and OKX, and plans to launch a pilot program for a domestically compliant exchange as early as this month. According to a Ministry of Finance document, five companies, including subsidiaries of Techcombank, VPBank, and LPBank, as well as securities firm VIX Securities and conglomerate Sun Group, have passed the initial review. Chainalysis data shows that Vietnam ranks fourth globally in cryptocurrency market activity, with annual trading volume exceeding $200 billion.
5. Argentina orders nationwide lockdown of prediction market platform Polymarket Link
Argentina has ordered a nationwide ban on the cryptocurrency-based prediction market platform Polymarket. After determining that the platform operated as an unlicensed online gambling service, a Buenos Aires court instructed the telecommunications regulator ENACOM to restrict access through internet providers and ordered Google and Apple to remove the app from their app stores in Argentina. The case reportedly stemmed from a complaint filed by the Buenos Aires City Lottery Company (LOTBA). Argentina becomes the second Latin American country, after Colombia, to impose a comprehensive ban on Polymarket.
6. Strategy announced it has purchased 22,337 BTC for approximately $1.57 billion .
Strategy efficiently converts fixed-income capital into spot BTC purchases through its STRC floating-rate perpetual preferred stock (par value $100, current dividend yield 11.5%, the seventh consecutive increase in March). In the week of March 9-15, ATM issued and sold approximately 11.818 million shares, raising net $1.1804 billion (the majority of the total $1.5764 billion raised that week), and purchasing 22,337 BTC, setting a new record for the largest single-week purchase in 2026. Since its launch in July 2025, STRC has become its core tool for BTC accumulation, peaking at over 4,000 BTC per day and pushing in over 7,000 BTC per week, far exceeding the daily new mining supply. However, with annual dividend obligations approaching $1.05 billion and a high proportion of preferred stock, it significantly dilutes common shareholders and puts pressure on cash flow.
7. BTQ deploys its first quantum-resistant proposal, BIP-360 , on its testnet.
Quantum technology company BTQ Technologies announced the successful deployment of the first functional implementation of Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP-360) on its Bitcoin Quantum testnet (v0.3.0). BIP-360 aims to address the potential threat of quantum computing to Bitcoin, with its core being the introduction of a new output type called "Pay to Merklegen," which minimizes the risk of exposing elliptic curve public keys. The proposal was officially merged into the Bitcoin BIP codebase earlier this year.
8. Morgan Stanley moves forward with its Bitcoin ETF application, submitting S-1 second amendment .
Morgan Stanley has filed a second revised S-1 document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to apply for a Bitcoin ETF, confirming that the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust will be listed on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol "MSBT." The document discloses a basket size of 10,000 shares and an initial seed allocation of 50,000 shares, with an expected fundraising of approximately $1 million. Previously, it was disclosed that BNY Mellon and Coinbase would serve as Bitcoin custodians and related entities, respectively. This revision indicates progress in the application but does not guarantee approval. If approved, Morgan Stanley could become the first major U.S. bank to directly issue a spot Bitcoin ETF.
9. U.S. Appeals Court rejects Kalshi's emergency request to allow Nevada to enforce the law.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Kalshi's emergency request to suspend Nevada enforcement action, allowing state regulators to enforce a temporary restraining order (TRO) that could prohibit the company from offering sports-related contracts. The Nevada Gaming Regulatory Commission had previously issued a cease and desist order on the products in question, finding them to constitute unlicensed sports betting. Kalshi, however, argued that its event contracts were regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and filed an objection. Lawyers stated that if the temporary restraining order takes effect, Kalshi expects to be unable to operate in Nevada for at least 14 days.
10. Several crypto companies announce layoffs to accelerate AI cost reduction and efficiency improvement.
Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini announced it has laid off approximately 30% of its workforce since the beginning of the year, reducing its number of employees to around 445, and has introduced AI tools to improve efficiency. The company projects a full-year loss of approximately $585 million in 2025, with fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $60 million but widening losses. Previously, it had announced layoffs of approximately 25% of its workforce, its withdrawal from the UK, EU, and Australian markets, and the replacement of several senior executives.
Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek announced that the company is fully integrating enterprise-grade artificial intelligence (AI) to improve operational scale and accuracy. Marszalek stated that companies failing to immediately transition to AI will be eliminated, and those slow to act will be abandoned. As part of this strategic transformation, Crypto.com has already laid off approximately 12% of its workforce in roles unable to adapt to the new environment. Affected employees have been notified and will receive transition support resources.
The Algorand Foundation stated that it has laid off approximately 25% of its staff due to global macroeconomic uncertainties and the downturn in the crypto market. It said the move was intended to better align resource allocation with the protocol's long-term business, technology, and ecosystem development priorities, and that it will continue to advance the Algorand network and ecosystem.
Eric Turner, co-founder of crypto research firm Messari, announced he has stepped down as CEO, handing over leadership to Diran Li. Turner stated he will continue to support the company as an advisor. Li also revealed that this management reshuffle will include layoffs within the team.
Key Financing Events
YZi Labs leads $52 million funding round for RoboForce.
Ironlight Group announced the completion of a $21 million Series A funding round.
Singapore-based cryptocurrency payment company dtcpay has raised $10 million in Series A funding, led by Vertex Ventures.
Derivio raises $6 million to advance its AI-native trading terminal infrastructure .
TransFi announced the completion of a $19.2 million funding round , led by Turing Financial Group.
Decentralized social network Bluesky announces completion of $100 million Series B funding round .
Hamilton Lane announced a strategic investment in the on-chain investment platform Republic.
For more industry funding events, please visit crypto-fundraising.info .
