Crypto

Stablecoins are emerging as cheaper alternatives to costly legacy FX rails, but off-ramps such as bank account access add significant friction, according to Delphi Digital. Stablecoins are gaining traction in high-cost cross-border payment corridors in emerging markets as they reduce some of the inefficiencies of legacy foreign exchange (FX) infrastructure, according to research firm Delphi Digital. Stablecoins are emerging as the cheapest way to move US dollars in emerging economies due to the high costs of legacy FX corridors, which can reach up to 8% in combined fees when sending money to Argentina or Nigeria.  Delphi said in a Monday article on X that 81% of the cost in those corridors comes from servicing the underlying banking infrastructure, which it argues gives stablecoin rails a structural advantage. Read more

Bitcoin adoption is surging across institutions, banks and corporations, but the price tells a different story. What explains the divergence? Bitcoin’s price reflects short-term marginal buying and selling, while adoption reflects long-term structural shifts. Ownership expansion, institutional integration and merchant growth can accelerate even when the market price remains flat or declines. In 2025, Bitcoin expanded significantly across institutions, banks, corporations, merchants and sovereign entities. These shifts represent deeper entrenchment within global financial systems, even as headline price performance appeared underwhelming. Institutions accumulated substantial amounts of Bitcoin, but much of this demand was offset by distribution from long-term holders. As supply changes hands between cohorts, price may consolidate instead of surge. Read more

Crypto’s push into institutional adoption is forcing DAOs to choose between maintaining decentralization and business deals. Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) were built on an ideological premise that is now running up against the realities of running a business, where decentralization collides with the need for legal ownership and control. On March 11, DAO Across Protocol made a controversial proposal to transition to a private company through a token-to-equity exchange buyout. Risk Labs, the team behind Across (ACX), said that the token and DAO structure “materially” impacted its ability to close deals with enterprises and institutions. The industry reaction has been split. Decentralized finance (DeFi) researcher Ignas called it a “huge failure of crypto.” Read more

The ruling directs internet providers to block access to the site, and Apple and Google to remove or restrict Polymarket's mobile apps.

Solana (SOL) faces critical resistance at $92 amid NVT warnings. Can it reach $100, or will new Bitcoin Layer 2s steal the spotlight? The post Gemini AI Crypto Prediction – Will Solana Price Smash $100 This Week? appeared first on Cryptonews.

The deal will include $300 million in contingent payments.

Five companies, including bank affiliates and a major conglomerate, are competing for Vietnam’s first crypto exchange licences as authorities plan to restrict offshore trading. Five Vietnamese companies are reportedly competing to launch the country’s first licensed crypto exchanges as authorities move to bring trading onshore and ban overseas platforms. Five companies have passed an initial qualification round, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a March 12 finance ministry document. The group reportedly includes affiliates of private banks Techcombank, VPBank and LPBank, alongside stockbroker VIX Securities and conglomerate Sun Group. VPBank and Sun Group reportedly confirmed their licence applications to Reuters. Vietnam opened applications for licenses to operate crypto exchanges in January. The move came after new procedures issued by the finance ministry and a law that, for the first time, defines crypto assets as property while still banning their use as legal tender or for payments. Read more

Decentralized compute fails without cryptographic verification. Today's networks decentralize GPUs but centralize trust. Opinion by: Leo Fan, founder of Cysic Decentralized compute has failed. Not because it can't find you a cheap GPU; it's actually quite good at that. The problem is that every major network today still forces you to trust the node operator with your data and results.  We have replaced Amazon's login page with a wallet connection and called it Web3. Read more

AI and privacy tokens have emerged as leaders after Bitcoin’s $75K retest, with experts citing infrastructure demand over speculative memes.

Payments giant Mastercard moves to bridge fiat and crypto with $1.8 billion acquisition of the U.K. based stablecoin startup.

The company's expansion in Brazil comes after it made big moves in Australia, the US, and Canada.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought 22,337 Bitcoin for about $1.57 billion last week, using a funding mix led by its variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, STRC. The March 16 announcement showed the company paid an average of $70,194 per Bitcoin in the purchase. The buy lifted Strategy’s holdings to 761,068 Bitcoin, valued at about $56.5 billion at […] The post Strategy on course to hit 1 million BTC this year — and STRC is the clearest reason why appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Cari Network is building a bank‑governed tokenized deposit platform on ZKsync’s Prividium stack, giving US regional lenders a stablecoin‑style, onchain payments rail. Cari Network, a permissioned network for banks led by former United States Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig, has chosen Matter Labs’ Prividium infrastructure to power a bank-governed tokenized deposit network for US regional and mid-sized lenders.  Built on ZKsync and anchored to Ethereum, the platform is designed to let participating banks issue and move tokenized deposits around the clock while keeping them on the balance sheet as bank liabilities, according to a Tuesday release shared with Cointelegraph. The move comes as lawmakers debate frameworks such as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act and as stablecoin issuers encroach on banks’ role in payments and deposit funding. Read more

The payments giant says the dollar-backed PYUSD token will enable cheaper cross-border transfers and faster settlement for merchants.

Ethereum is finally showing more upside potential. After spending weeks building a base above the February lows, ETH has now pushed into a key resistance zone, which makes this one of the more important tests since the selloff began. The rebound is real, but it is now approaching an area where sellers previously stepped in. […]

ETH rallied with fresh inflows and treasury-buying support, while users on prediction market Myriad have shifted bullish.

Your day-ahead look for March 17, 2026

A Buenos Aires court instructed Argentina's telecom agency ENACOM to block Polymarket nationwide, citing unauthorized gambling concerns. A court in Argentina has ordered a nationwide block of the major crypto-based prediction market platform Polymarket over unauthorized gambling. Argentina’s national communications and media regulator, Ente Nacional de Comunicaciones (ENACOM), received a court order to block access to the Polymarket website and its variants across the country, according to a ruling dated March 11. The order was issued by the Buenos Aires Court of First Instance in Criminal, Contravention and Minor Offenses No. 31, which is investigating Polymarket under Argentina’s Criminal Code for allegedly offering gambling services without authorization. Read more

Bitcoin bulls failed to break through major resistance at six-week highs as open interest trends triggered warnings of a BTC price reversal. Bitcoin (BTC) risks turning its rebound into a classic “bull trap” as the price rejects at strong resistance. Key points: Bitcoin faces flat Coinbase spot demand and an open interest divergence as prices rise above $75,000. Read more

The company sold 4,451 BTC in February to cut debt and fund AI infrastructure pivot.