Crypto World
Bitcoin drops as soaring energy prices rattle risk assets: Crypto Markets Today
Bitcoin nursed fresh losses on Thursday after bearing the brunt of soaring energy prices, with Brent crude oil rising to $114 and Oman crude pushing up to $150.
European natural gas futures followed suit, surging about 25% to above $78 per MWh on Thursday as Iran attacked key Gulf energy infrastructure after an Israeli strike on its South Pars gas field.
Bitcoin traded near $70,000 having lost 1.6% since midnight UTC while ether (ETH) dropped 1.7% to $2,160.
The Federal Reserve also had an impact after it left rates unchanged in the 3.50%–3.75% range on Wednesday, pausing a rate-cutting cycle to boost the U.S. dollar.
Risk assets tumbled across the board as a result, with Nasdaq 100 futures down by around 0.3% since midnight UTC.
Derivatives positioning
- Nearly $600 million in leveraged crypto futures bets have been liquidated by crypto platforms in 24 hours, with longs, or bullish plays, accounting for most of the tally. The overnight price drop clearly caught bulls off guard.
- Industry-wide, futures open interest (OI) has declined by 5.6% to $106.90.
- Ether futures OI dropped 9% as the token’s spot price fell 6%. This combination represents capital outflows.
- Futures tied to tether gold (XAUT) and privacy-focused ZEC saw double-digit declines, indicating investor risk aversion.
- Bearish short plays are in demand again, as evidenced by negative funding rates for BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL and other tokens. The 24-hour cumulative volume delta for most of these coins is negative, underlining the position.
- Fear has crept back into the market. Volmex’s BVIV, which measures the 30-day implied, or expected, price turbulence in bitcoin, has jumped over 5% to 58.36%, ending a week-long decline. The same is true for ether.
- On Deribit, bitcoin and ether put skews have strengthened, again indicating heightened downside concerns.
- Block flows featured an outsized demand for ether straddles, a volatility strategy. In BTC’s case, traders chased risk reversals and put spreads.
Token talk
- Several altcoins were dealt deep moves to the downside on Thursday, notably bittensor (TAO) and hyperliquid (HYPE), which lost 8.8% and 6.5%, respectively, since midnight.
- The move in the altcoin market can be attributed to a lack of liquidity in a market that remains fractured following a $19 billion leverage wipeout in October.
- A select few tokens showed strength despite the broader market pullback. NEO rose by 4.2% and restaking token ETHFI continued its strong start to the year, adding 1.5% to $0.55.
- The CoinDesk 20 (CD20) is in the red after losing around 1% since midnight, while the DeFi Select Index (DFX) and CoinDesk Memecoin Index (CDMEME) are down by 1.4% and 2%, respectively.
- Bittensor price is trapped between key support and strong resistance levels.
- Momentum is cooling, hinting at either consolidation or a drop.
- A break above $300 or below $250 will decide the next major move.
Bittensor (TAO) had shown strong bullish movement for the better part of the year before hitting a snag on March 16.
That rejection triggered a sharp pullback that erased part of the recent gains.
The cryptocurrency has now entered a tense phase, with analysts trying to determine whether the current weakness is a healthy pause or the start of a deeper decline.
Key technical levels shaping the market
Bittensor is currently trading within a well-defined range that has formed over recent price swings.
The upper boundary sits near the $282 to $300 zone, where multiple attempts to break higher have failed.
This area has consistently acted as a ceiling and has attracted strong selling pressure.
A clean move above $282 would shift the market sentiment quickly, signalling renewed strength and possibly opening the path toward $313.
Beyond that, $357 remains a longer-term target if momentum continues to build.
On the downside, the market has shown repeated reactions around the $250 region.
This level aligns closely with a key Fibonacci retracement zone and has become a critical support area.
Below that, analysts note that $168 stands out as another important level where buyers have previously stepped in.
Accumulation or correction?
The current structure presents two clear possibilities. The first is a controlled pullback that leads into accumulation.
In this scenario, the price stabilises between $230 and $250 as larger participants gradually build positions.
This type of behaviour often appears after strong rallies and helps reset momentum.
The second scenario is a deeper correction that extends below current support levels.
This would indicate that selling pressure is stronger than expected and that buyers are not yet ready to defend higher prices.
A breakdown below $233 would strengthen this view and likely accelerate downside movement.
Market indicators currently suggest that momentum is cooling, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) moving down from overbought levels, signalling a loss of upward pressure.
While this does not confirm a trend reversal on its own, it does suggest caution in the short term.
The bigger picture
Despite the recent weakness, Bittensor continues to stand out due to its underlying purpose.
The network is built around rewarding useful artificial intelligence, creating a system where performance determines value.
This gives the project a foundation that is different from many speculative assets.
Price action often moves ahead of fundamentals, and this appears to be one of those moments.
The market is currently adjusting after a strong run, and this adjustment could take time.
However, whether this turns into accumulation or further decline will depend on how the price behaves around key levels in the coming days.
OP_NET said it is launching a “SlowFi” decentralized finance (DeFi) stack on Bitcoin that uses standard Bitcoin transactions and native BTC fees rather than bridges, wrapped assets or a separate gas token.
According to a Thursday release shared with Cointelegraph, the project is part of a broader push to bring trading and yield-style activity directly onto Bitcoin’s base layer instead of routing it through sidechains, bridges or adjacent networks. OP_NET is betting some users will accept slower and more expensive transactions in exchange for staying fully on Bitcoin.
According to OP_NET co-founder Frederic Fosco, who goes by Danny Plainview, applications run through standard Bitcoin (BTC) transactions using Taproot-based spends, while the platform’s NativeSwap model is designed to support token swaps without wrapped BTC or a separate gas asset. Plainview told Cointelegraph that every transaction on OP_NET is “just a Bitcoin transaction with BTC as the only gas asset.”
The launch lands in the middle of a growing fight inside Bitcoin over whether DeFi-style and data-heavy uses of block space strengthen the network’s fee market or amount to spam that crowds out monetary transactions.
Plainview said a swap would typically cost about $1 to $2 under normal fee conditions and roughly $10 to $20 when blocks are congested, because users pay only standard Bitcoin network fees rather than a separate gas token.
OP_NET describes the model as “SlowFi,” arguing that Bitcoin’s roughly 10-minute block times and congestion-driven exit friction can make liquidity stickier and produce longer-lived DeFi cycles than faster chains.
Related: Fireblocks to integrate Stacks for institutional-grade Bitcoin DeFi
Critics say OP_NET brings Ethereum-style DeFi bloat
Plainview framed layer-1 DeFi as a way to support miner revenue as block subsidies decline, arguing that “miners are bleeding” due to Bitcoin’s halving schedule. “The only thing that keeps miners solvent is a fee market,” he said, insisting that OP_NET does not modify Bitcoin consensus.
Related: Animoca, RootstockLabs partner to bring Bitcoin DeFi to Japanese institutions
That view has drawn criticism from Bitcoin users who argue that pushing DeFi-style activity onto layer 1 dilutes Bitcoin’s monetary focus or clogs block space with nonessential transactions. In recent posts on X, some critics described OP_NET as an attempt to bring Ethereum-style crypto infrastructure onto Bitcoin.
Some maximalists argued that any attempt to expand Bitcoin’s use cases beyond money made its proponents “sh*tcoiners” larping as Bitcoiners.
Plainview pushed back, saying that any fee-paying Taproot transaction should be treated as a legitimate use of block space.
He warned that drawing moral lines around valid transactions handed de facto control of Bitcoin to whoever defines those categories. He said:
“The whole point is that nobody controls it.”
OP_NET keeps DeFi on Bitcoin base layer
OP_NET enters a field already populated by earlier attempts to bring programmability to Bitcoin, including through RSK and Stacks.
RSK operates as a separate Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible sidechain with its own RBTC gas token and a federated BTC peg, meaning users move value off mainnet and trust a federation to manage the bridge.
Stacks, by contrast, is a Bitcoin-anchored layer-2 with its own STX token and sBTC mechanism, executing smart contracts on a distinct chain that settles periodically to Bitcoin rather than inside L1 transactions.
By keeping execution and fees directly on Bitcoin and avoiding wrapped BTC or new gas assets, Plainview is betting that some users will accept slower, more expensive transactions in exchange for staying entirely on Bitcoin’s base layer.
Magazine: Bitcoin may take 7 years to upgrade to post-quantum — BIP-360 co-author
Evernorth Holdings, an XRP treasury company going public through a SPAC merger, disclosed in a new S-4 filing that it and Pathfinder Digital Assets held about 473.1 million XRP as of the end of last year.
The document also gives investors a clearer look at how that position was built. Evernorth said it used $214.1 million in cash to acquire 84.4 million XRP, which works out to about $2.54 per token for that portion of the treasury. XRP is currently trading at $1.45, or down about 35% from the average purchase price.
The filing also points to a $233.7 million digital asset impairment for 2025 under U.S. accounting rules, reflecting the gap between purchase prices and lower market values at the reporting date.
The filing also shows the treasury did not come only from open-market buying. Ripple, a major player in the XRP ecosystem, contributed 126.8 million XRP to Pathfinder under a contribution agreement.
The sponsor separately contributed 211.3 million XRP through a Series C subscription tied to the broader deal, the filing shows.
Evernorth says it wants to actively manage its treasury rather than simply holding XRP and waiting for the token to rise. The S-4 says the company plans to use Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin in XRP-based decentralized finance activity, including RLUSD/XRP liquidity pools.
It also expects to lend XRP, provide automated market-maker liquidity, and run options strategies, such as covered calls and cash-secured puts, to further monetize the company’s treasury.
CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.
The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2029.25, down 1.6% (-33.09) since yesterday’s close.
Two of 20 assets are trading higher.
Leaders: APT (+0.4%) and BCH (+0.4%).
Laggards: NEAR (-3.3%) and HBAR (-2.9%).
The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.
Attendees bring their laptops to install the OpenClaw AI agent during a Baidu event in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
BEIJING — So many people in China are rushing to try the OpenClaw artificial intelligence tool that they’re driving up prices for secondhand Mac computers.
That’s according to Jeremy Ji, chief strategy officer and general manager of international business at ATRenew, a used consumer electronics buyer and reseller that works with Apple and retailer JD.com in mainland China.
OpenClaw is an AI agent, a tool that can autonomously conduct personal tasks such as sending emails and shopping online. Usage in China is currently outstripping the U.S., according to American cybersecurity firm SecurityScorecard.
However, the free-to-download software also poses security risks, prompting many users to run OpenClaw on a cloud computing server or laptop separate from their primary device. If allowed direct access to a personal computer, the AI agent could autonomously alter private data such as banking information, or enable hackers to access it more easily.
As people in China jump on the OpenClaw trend, they are turning to preowned computers, Ji said in a phone interview.
He likened the demand surge to the pandemic, when many people bought more personal computing devices since they were working and spending more time at home.
As a result, from March to May this year, Ji said that ATRenew is keeping its prices for Apple products similar to those seen during the peak fall season around new iPhone releases. That contrasts with a typical price drop during the spring.
Ji said prices for a new MacBook are typically 15% higher than the used ones sold through ATRenew.
Apple’s self-developed chips, the latest of which is called the M5, are generally more power-efficient than chips for computers running Windows systems. For early OpenClaw adopters, the popular hardware of choice has been Apple’s Mac Mini.
ATRenew’s Ji said the company is seeing people trade-in their MacBooks with older M1 and M2 chips for computers with the M4 or M5 chip. “We do see the growing demand for laptops, PCs as a whole, but the Mac devices benefit from that trend [to try OpenClaw] above all.”
Consumer interest in more powerful secondhand MacBooks is “still going very strong,” Ji said, noting that ATRenew has had to increase its price for buying back devices in order to increase the supply of secondhand Macs available for purchase. He predicted the trend could continue “throughout the whole year.”
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An Austrian developer, Peter Steinberger, launched OpenClaw in November. But the latest wave of interest in China only picked up early this month as Tencent and other Chinese tech companies used OpenClaw as a way to attract more users.
ATRenew’s Ji declined to share the exact volume of MacBooks handled since late February, but noted the average number of devices the company processed last year was around 100,000 a day. He expects the share of MacBook and other laptop or personal computing devices could grow to 20% of the business, up from 15% right now.
Jensen Huang, CEO of U.S. chip giant Nvidia, told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday that OpenClaw is “definitely the next ChatGPT.”
“It is now the largest, most popular, the most successful open-sourced project in the history of humanity,” Huang said.
Overall demand for AI computing power has also driven up prices for memory chips, a key component of smartphones and laptops.
The chip price surge has specifically encouraged more consumers in China to buy used Apple smartphones, rather than flagship Android-based devices, Ji said.
Bitcoin slid as geopolitical shocks in the Middle East reverberated through energy markets, pushing crude prices higher and prompting a fresh round of profit-taking among long-term holders. Large, one-time transfers—conducted by an ancient BTC whale and one of the earliest adopters—added to the sense that risk appetite was evaporating as investors weighed the intersection of conflict, energy supply concerns, and crypto exposure.
Blockchain trackers reported notable moves from historical bitcoin wallets on the same day that Brent crude surged past $119 per barrel before retreating, and European energy prices spiked in response to attacks on gas infrastructure in the region. The broader macro backdrop has crypto traders watching for where the next large liquidity shift might come from, as the balance between risk-off sentiment and perceived safe-haven demand remains unsettled.
Key takeaways
- A long-destined bitcoin whale moved 1,000 BTC to Binance on Wednesday, after purchasing 5,000 BTC around 13 years ago. The address reportedly still holds roughly 1,500 BTC, worth about $106 million at current prices.
- One of the earliest BTC holders, Owen Gunden, transferred 650 BTC to Kraken on the same day, marking his first substantial sale in five months. He previously liquidated a large portion of his stack, around 11,000 BTC, in a prior period.
- Bitcoin traded around $70,400, down about 5% over 24 hours, as traders weighed the conflict-driven energy shock against ongoing macro uncertainty. Gold also softened, dipping roughly 4% to around $4,686 per ounce.
- Geopolitical events linked to Iran, Israel, and Qatar pushed energy benchmarks higher, with Brent briefly tipping above $119 before retreating, and WTI testing the $100 level in intraday moves.
- Analysts characterized the move as part of a broader risk-off shift rather than a straightforward move into safe-haven assets, underscoring ongoing questions about how crypto assets react to geopolitical stress.
Whale activity amid macro turmoil
Data from Arkham indicates that the so-called “bc1ql” whale—one of the most famous address labels in the bitcoin ecosystem—sent 1,000 BTC to Binance on Wednesday. The address originally acquired 5,000 BTC about 13 years ago and remains a significant UTXO holder, with roughly 1,500 BTC still in reserve, according to Onchain Lens analysis of the wallet’s balance history.
Meanwhile, Owen Gunden—one of the earliest BTC holders—moved 650 BTC to Kraken on the same day. Lookonchain reported this as his first sizeable sale in five months, part of a pattern of selective liquidity operations during a period of heightened macro noise.
Aurelie Barthere, principal research analyst at crypto intelligence platform Nansen, noted that the BTC sell-off appeared to be connected to a broader risk-off phase driven by the energy shock in the Middle East. “BTC began to sell off yesterday around noon CET, following the escalation of the war between Iran and Israel and the attack on gas infrastructure in Qatar,” she told Cointelegraph, adding: “If we fail to hold the $70K–$71K level, we could return to the previous range of approximately $60K–$71K.”
Energy markets in flux deepen crypto uncertainty
The same day, energy markets reacted decisively to the regional tensions. Brent crude surged past $119 per barrel before easing to about $114.77, while West Texas Intermediate moved in a similar range, briefly touching $100 before trading near $96.50, according to Trading Economics. The price action underscores how geopolitical catalysts can quickly translate into risk-off dynamics across traditional and digital asset markets.
New developments in the region further intensified market attention. Reports emerged that Israel conducted strikes on Iran’s South Pars gas field—a component of the world’s most prolific natural gas reserve, which Iran shares with Qatar. The South Pars field has long been a focal point for debates about regional energy security and its potential spillover effects on energy prices globally. In the wake of the strikes, energy headlines dominated market screens, with Western wholesale gas prices in Europe and the UK spiking as European buyers weighed potential supply disruptions.
These energy-market ripples helped propel a narrative that the crypto market’s recent risk-off move is not a pure flight-to-safety among crypto bulls, but rather a broader shift away from risk assets in a period of heightened geopolitical risk. As Barthere put it, the interplay between energy prices, macro risk, and crypto exposure is still ambiguous—investors will be watching whether bitcoin can defend the key psychological level around $70,000.
Bitcoin’s price path amid a mixed risk environment
Bitcoin’s price action reflected a cautious stance among traders. As of early European trading hours, BTC traded around $70,440, down roughly 5% on the day, according to CoinMarketCap data. The pullback mirrors a concurrent decline in gold, which shed about 4.2% to roughly $4,686 per ounce, signaling that even traditional haven assets were not immune to the risk-off tone at the time.
Analysts stressed that this is not a straightforward “buy-the-dip” moment for all investors. Rather, it is a climate in which macro shocks, energy-market volatility, and geopolitical risk converge to shape liquidity flows. The key question for participants is whether BTC can hold the $70,000–$71,000 zone, which may prove pivotal in determining whether the market stabilizes in the near term or if the next leg down tests lower ranges.
“If we fail to hold the $70K–$71K level, we could return to the previous range of approximately $60K–$71K,” Barthere summarized, highlighting how quickly support levels can become contested when macro drivers shift abruptly. In this environment, traders and investors may need to consider both on-chain signals, such as whale balance movements, and off-chain indicators, including energy pricing and geopolitical risk proxies, to calibrate risk and potential hedges.
What remains uncertain is how durable the current risk-off mood will prove, and whether fresh catalysts—such as diplomatic developments or escalations in regional tensions—will reorient flows toward or away from digital assets. Market participants will be watching for any signs that key support holds and whether larger players—whether legacy funds or new entrants—adjust their allocations in response to evolving macro conditions.
As the situation in the Middle East continues to unfold, investors should keep a close eye on on-chain movements from long-held wallets, shifts in correlated markets like oil and gold, and the evolving narrative around bitcoin’s role in a high-uncertainty environment. The coming days could reveal whether this is a temporary liquidity squeeze or the first stage of a longer adjustment in crypto demand amid a broader macro pivot.
Readers should watch forthcoming updates on energy-market developments and on-chain whale activity, which together may illuminate the next leg for bitcoin’s price and its evolving relationship with traditional financial markets.
Pi Network price managed to brush off the bearish sentiment prevailing in the broader crypto market amid a major mainnet upgrade that introduced smart contract functionality to the Pi ecosystem.
Summary
- Pi Network price held steady near $0.177 after a brief drop, defying a broader crypto market downturn despite remaining nearly 40% below its post-listing high.
- The resilience followed the rollout of mainnet version 20, which introduced smart contract capabilities and boosted expectations for ecosystem growth.
- Technical indicators remain bearish, with PI trading below key moving averages and facing downside risk if support near $0.176 fails.
According to data from crypto.news, Pi Network (PI) price initially fell 5% to an intraday low of $0.171 on March 19 before recouping from its losses and edging higher to $0.177 at press time. The token, however, remains nearly 40% lower than its high, which it attained following its highly anticipated listing on crypto exchange Kraken.
Pi Network’s resilience amidst the sectorwide downturn can be attributed to hype surrounding its mainnet upgrade to version 20. The latest upgrade brings the ability to support smart contracts to the network. This means developers can now build decentralized applications and other services on the platform, which could ultimately drive development and adoption of the Pi ecosystem.
In a March 19 X post, Pi developers also revealed that version 21 of the protocol would soon be rolled out. They instructed node operators to ensure their systems are up to date and to wait for more detailed instructions.
Major announcements such as these tend to boost investor demand for the token and thus add upward pressure on its price.
The latest upgrade follows a series of protocol updates that began on Feb. 20, when the team rolled out its first upgrade of the year to version 19.6.
Despite the bullish development for the Pi ecosystem, charts seem to present a bearish outlook for the Pi token for the upcoming sessions.
On the daily chart, Pi Network price has fallen below the 50, 100, and 200-day moving averages, a sign that the long-term trend has shifted decisively in favor of sellers. The only exception was the 20-day SMA at $0.176, which stands as the final line of support preventing a deeper slide into bearish territory.
As PI price fell, it flipped the Supertrend indicator red, which means the market bias has turned negative and volatility is now working against the bulls. Furthermore, the MACD lines have pointed downwards, which indicates that bears have seized dominance over the price action, and momentum is currently favoring further downside.
For now, $0.176 is the most important support level to keep an eye on. A drop below this could instill confidence in bears to push prices down to the Feb 23 low of $0.156. However, a break above the $0.200 psychological resistance would invalidate the bearish forecast and potentially signal a trend reversal.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Some South Korean lawmakers are pushing back against the ruling party’s plan to levy a 22% tax on cryptocurrencies.
Summary
- People Power Party has introduced a bill to amend the Income Tax Act and scrap the planned crypto gains tax ahead of its 2027 rollout.
- The proposed 22% tax on crypto profits above 2.5 million won has already been delayed three times amid continued political disagreement and industry pushback.
A bill introduced by the right-wing People Power Party on Thursday seeks to amend the Income Tax Act and fully abolish the planned taxation on cryptocurrency gains, according to local media reports.
The tax plan was originally introduced in 2020 by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and proposed a 20% national income tax and 2% local tax on crypto profits that exceed 2.5 million Korean won. Since its inception, the proposal has been at the center of a heated political debate and has been postponed three times.
It was originally set to be implemented in 2022, but the effective date is now slated for Jan. 1, 2027.
However, the opposition contends that the proposal raises concerns around fairness and equity in taxation across investment classes, especially as South Korea has previously repealed income tax on other financial investments such as stocks. Critics of the framework argue that taxing only crypto investors is unfair.
Several major exchanges in the country have also argued that the tax structure would hamper trading activity and reduce market participation.
Interestingly, the bill cites the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent guidance on how most cryptocurrencies may not qualify as securities. The People Power Party’s bill highlights this position to argue that crypto should not be treated the same as traditional securities.
Kim Han-gyu, the senior deputy floor leader for policy of the Ruling Democratic Party, has reportedly said that the left-wing party will discuss the bill, but noted that such a proposal has not been seriously considered so far.
As one of the largest crypto markets in the world, South Korea has been reevaluating its approach to taxation on digital assets.
Last year, the country’s Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups proposed an amendment to the framework which would allow crypto firms to register as venture companies and become eligible for tax cuts and other benefits.
Browser marker Opera (OPRA) wants to replace its cash-based deal with Celo with a 160 million CELO token allocation, a move that would make the browser company a major stakeholder in the payments network if token holders approve it.
The proposal, submitted to Celo’s governance forum, would swap a quarterly U.S. dollar grant for a three-year token award. Using the roughly 600 million CELO now in circulation according to CoinMarketCap data, the proposed allocation equals about 27% of circulating supply.
It also represents 16% of the token’s 1 billion maximum supply. CELO is at the time of writing trading at $0.07, down significantly from a peak above $6 seen in late 2021.
The transaction would involve a “one-time transfer of 160 million CELO from the unreleased treasury to an Opera-controlled Safe.” To maintain governance, the proposal reads, the voting power of these tokens will be “capped at 10% of total staked CELO,” with protocol emergencies being the exception.
Opera and Celo said the change reflects the role of self-custodial crypto wallet MiniPay, which the browser maker operates, on the network. MiniPay runs on Celo, an Ethereum layer-2 network built for low-cost payments, and lets users hold their own funds, send stablecoins with phone numbers instead of wallet strings and pay using local methods in various countries including Argentina and Brazil.
“Since MiniPay is already Celo’s most-used app, we have a clear, long-term incentive to see the entire ecosystem thrive,” Jorgen Arnesen, EVP at Opera, told CoinDesk. “The terms of this agreement reflect the scale and maturity of the partnership and Opera’s genuine belief in and commitment to the long-term value of the Celo ecosystem and its native governance token, CELO, and our goal to be a supportive, key stakeholder.”
According to the companies, MiniPay has reached more than 14 million registrations and over 420 million transactions across more than 66 countries since launching in 2023.
They also said more than 50 million Opera browser users who earned rewards in recent months will be able to redeem them as USDT inside MiniPay.
If approved, the proposal would turn Opera into a long-term stakeholder in the Celo ecosystem. Opera’s shares are trading at $14.6 after losing 1.2% of their value in yesterday’s trading session.
XRP crypto just got its own treasury company heading to Wall Street.
Evernorth filed its Form S-4 with the SEC on Wednesday, formalizing a merger with SPAC Armada Acquisition Corp. II. The deal is expected to generate over $1 billion in gross proceeds.
The merged entity, Evernorth Holdings Inc., projects holding at least 473 million XRP at launch. Funded through Ripple contributions and open-market purchases using merger proceeds.
- Deal Structure: Merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II targeting a Nasdaq listing under tickers XRPN and XRPNW.
- Treasury Assets: Combined entity expects to hold a minimum of 473 million XRP plus additional open-market acquisitions.
- Strategic Backing: Capital commitments involve major industry players including Ripple, SBI, and Pantera Capital.
Evernorth Deal Mechanics: Beyond Passive Holding
Evernorth is not just buying and hoarding XRP like MicroStrategy does with Bitcoin. The plan involves active yield generation through lending markets, liquidity provisioning, and validator operations on the XRP Ledger. They are also integrating Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin directly into the strategy.
— Diana (@InvestWithD) March 18, 2026
BREAKING: Evernorth OFFICIALLY FILES S-4 to Go PUBLIC on NASDAQ Under Ticker “XRPN” 
@Evernorthxrp has now OFFICIALLY FILED its S-4 with the @SECGov, moving one step closer to becoming a PUBLICLY TRADED NASDAQ COMPANY built around $XRP exposure. 
Evernorth is NOT doing… pic.twitter.com/EZc2SNtW2g
The SPAC conversion is straightforward. Armada Acquisition Corp. II becomes Evernorth Holdings and lists on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN. SBI and Kraken are among the institutional investors already lined up. Davis Polk is handling legal, making sure the structure survives regulatory scrutiny.
The mandate is clear. Build a balance sheet that acts as a direct proxy for the XRP ecosystem. Use the $1.1 billion financing to dominate the asset’s float.
The timing fits a broader pattern. RedotPay is targeting a $150 million pre-IPO raise for a US listing. Crypto firms are racing to access public capital markets while the window is open.
What It Means for XRP Crypto: The Institutional Premium
XRPN opens a door that did not exist before. Equity-only funds that cannot hold crypto directly can now get XRP exposure through a Nasdaq-listed stock. That is a significant new liquidity valve for institutional capital sitting on the sidelines.
XRP’S FIRST PUBLIC TREASURY GIANT RISES — CryptosRus (@CryptosR_Us) March 19, 2026
Evernorth is poised to make history as the first public company with a core XRP treasury strategy, sealing a $1B+ merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II for a Nasdaq listing as $XRPN. Holding ~473M $XRP at launch, backed by… pic.twitter.com/FJ3Hyyg1pH
Goldman Sachs already has a reported $154 million position in related crypto instruments. Evernorth locking hundreds of millions of XRP into a corporate balance sheet alongside that kind of institutional interest could meaningfully reduce volatility in the spot market.
The bull case is reflexive. XRPN trades at a premium to NAV, the firm issues more shares, buys more XRP, drives spot prices higher, repeat. CEO Asheesh Birla has been explicit about the goal. Grow XRP per share. That signals aggressive accumulation is the core strategy.
The bear case is regulatory timing. SPACs face intense disclosure requirements and the SEC review process can drag. If the merger close gets delayed, the entire $1.1 billion capital deployment sits frozen. The environment has improved significantly under Paul Atkins but the risk is real.
The infrastructure is built. The vehicle exists. Now the market decides whether it wants to pay a premium for access.
Discover: The best new crypto in the world
The post XRP Crypto Treasury Firm Evernorth Files S-4 for $1 Billion SPAC Deal appeared first on Cryptonews.
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