A 70% oil spike could nearly double US inflation, slash rate-cut hopes, and deepen downside risks for Bitcoin prices in the coming months. Bitcoin (BTC) has outperformed US equities and gold since the US and Israel’s attack on Iran on Feb. 28, underscoring its strength amid one of the year’s biggest geopolitical shocks. However, BTC’s rally may face a serious challenge if oil prices spike toward $180 per barrel, a scenario some Saudi Arabian officials now see as plausible if Middle East supply disruptions persist beyond April. Key takeaways: Read more
After the 2023 crackdown, Nexo reenters the US with a partner-led model. What is different, and what should users watch? After paying a $45-million settlement in 2023 and exiting the market, Nexo has reentered the US with a redesigned product model focused on regulatory alignment rather than direct yield issuance. The 2023 crackdown centered on unregistered securities concerns. The SEC alleged that Nexo’s Earn Interest Product functioned as an unregistered security, raising questions about retail yield marketing, transparency, custody practices and counterparty risk. The new model relies on licensed US partners. Instead of directly offering yield products, Nexo now operates through regulated US intermediaries, including licensed entities and, where required, SEC-registered investment advisers. Read more
Ether whale order sizes are shrinking, while a $2 billion short cluster near $2,000 frame a tightening liquidity scenario for ETH after a sixth week of red price action. Ether (ETH) whale activity on a major exchange has slowed since the start of 2026, with roughly 2 million ETH traded in large-sized transactions over the past 45 days. ETH is currently in the midst of its worst weekly losing streak since 2022, with exchange flow trends and futures market liquidation data impacting investor expectations for Ether’s short and long-term price direction in the broader market. CryptoQuant data shows that the average ETH whale sell orders on Binance have fallen to around 1,350 ETH in recent weeks, down from roughly 2,250 ETH in early January. Assuming 15 to 35 whale-sized executions per day, the cumulative gross sell-side turnover since Jan. 8 is estimated at around 1.8 to 2 million ETH over the past 45 days. Read more
ECB president Christine Lagarde is a crypto skeptic, but her likely successors are no more enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies. European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde is stepping down sometime before the French presidential election next year. Under her leadership, the ECB has consulted on the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation that defined the crypto landscape in the European Union. The preeminent European bank also began work on the digital euro — the next iteration of the Eurozone’s currency. But there is still work to be done on crypto policy in Europe. MiCA does not, in its current form, regulate decentralized finance (DeFi), and policymakers at the ECB are still deliberating over the digital euro’s final details. Read more
South Korea reopens crypto to corporations with strict caps and asset limits. This is part of a broader strategy that includes stablecoin legislation and potential spot crypto ETFs. South Korea is ending a nine-year ban on corporate crypto trading, allowing listed entities and professional investment companies to reenter the market under a regulated framework. Corporate participation will be tightly controlled, with investments capped at 5% of annual equity capital and limited to the top 20 cryptocurrencies traded on regulated domestic exchanges. Institutional entry may gradually improve liquidity and market structure, but strict limits mean large capital inflows from corporate treasuries are unlikely in the short term. Read more