Crypto World
Best Buy (BBY) Shares Surge 5% Amid GameStop (GME) Acquisition Rumors
Key Highlights
- Best Buy (BBY) shares climbed 5.3% amid rumors of a potential GameStop (GME) acquisition
- GameStop’s CEO Ryan Cohen announced in January his pursuit of a “very, very, very big” consumer company acquisition
- GameStop’s recent 10-K revealed approximately $0.7 billion pledged as collateral for derivative transactions
- Gordon Haskett’s Don Bilson identified “prime broker action” in BBY during Q4 while questioning the timeline alignment
- GameStop (GME) shares declined 2.3% during the same trading session; the company has remained silent on inquiries
Shares of Best Buy (BBY) experienced a notable 5.3% climb on Wednesday following widespread speculation that GameStop (GME) may be positioning itself to acquire the electronics retail giant.
The acquisition chatter traces back to remarks from GameStop Chairman and CEO Ryan Cohen during late January, where he expressed his ambition to execute a “very, very, very big” acquisition of a substantial consumer-focused company — characterizing it as a potentially transformational move for GameStop.
The speculation intensified following GameStop’s most recent 10-K filing, which revealed the company “posted approximately $0.7 billion of cash into an account that is pledged as collateral for certain existing and potential cash or physically settled derivative transactions.”
According to Gordon Haskett analyst Don Bilson, evidence suggests GameStop has established a swap position and appears to be evaluating potential acquisition candidates. However, he refrained from identifying a specific target company.
Bilson had earlier mentioned Best Buy as a plausible candidate, citing prime broker movements in BBY throughout the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, he acknowledged a potential timing discrepancy — the observed activity doesn’t perfectly align with GameStop’s disclosure indicating capital deployment occurred after its fiscal year conclusion.
Despite these uncertainties, market participants reacted enthusiastically, driving BBY shares significantly higher.
GameStop has not issued any response to media inquiries regarding the speculation. The company’s stock declined 2.3% during the same trading period.
Best Buy’s Current Financial Standing
Best Buy maintains a market capitalization of approximately $13.58 billion. Trailing twelve-month revenue reaches $41.69 billion, although the retailer’s 3-year revenue growth rate registers at -1.4%.
Profit margins remain modest, with operating margins at 4.2% and net margins at 2.56% — both showing declining trends in recent periods. Insider activity has leaned toward selling, with six transactions totaling 77,247 shares executed over the previous three months.
From a valuation perspective, however, the metrics present a more compelling narrative. Best Buy’s price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 hovers near its 3-year minimum. Similarly, the P/S ratio of 0.34 and P/B ratio of 4.58 are approaching historical lows, suggesting potential undervaluation.
The relative strength index currently stands at 37.79, approaching oversold conditions.
Underlying Financial Resilience
Notwithstanding revenue challenges, Best Buy demonstrates robust financial health indicators. The company’s Altman Z-Score of 4.13 and Piotroski F-Score of 7 both signal strong balance sheet fundamentals.
Wall Street analysts have established an average price target of $73.32, accompanied by a recommendation score of 2.7 — reflecting measured optimism.
Best Buy maintains operations across approximately 1,068 retail locations through its Domestic and International divisions, spanning computing, mobile devices, appliances, consumer electronics, entertainment products, and related services.
The stock’s beta coefficient of 1.69 indicates heightened sensitivity to broader market movements — a relevant consideration given Wednesday’s rapid response to acquisition speculation.
GameStop has not publicly confirmed any specific acquisition target, and no formal proposal or regulatory filing has been disclosed to date.
TLDR
- LayerZero has integrated its interoperability protocol with the Canton Network to support cross-chain asset transfers.
- The Canton Network operates as a blockchain designed for regulated financial institutions and structured markets.
- Goldman Sachs supports Digital Asset, the primary developer behind the Canton Network.
- The integration enables institutions to route tokenized assets across more than 165 public blockchains.
- LayerZero reported that its ecosystem represents over $100 billion in value.
LayerZero has launched its interoperability protocol on the Canton Network to enable cross-chain transfers for institutional users. The integration allows regulated financial firms to move tokenized assets across more than 165 public blockchains. Both organizations confirmed the development in a joint statement released Thursday.
Goldman Sachs and Institutional Backers Support Canton Expansion
Canton Network operates as a blockchain built for regulated financial institutions and structured markets. Digital Asset develops the network, and Goldman Sachs supports the company alongside other firms. Microsoft and DTCC also back Digital Asset as strategic supporters.
Digital Asset raised $135 million in June during a funding round led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets. BNP Paribas, Circle Ventures, Citadel Securities, DTCC, and Goldman Sachs joined the round. The company confirmed that nearly 400 ecosystem participants now engage with Canton.
Goldman Sachs Global Head of Digital Assets Mathew McDermott addressed the partnership last year. He said, “Our longstanding relationship with Digital Asset stems from a deep conviction in the strength of their technology.” His statement highlighted continued institutional backing for the platform.
LayerZero Enables Cross-Chain Routing for Tokenized Assets
LayerZero became the first interoperability protocol to go live on the Canton Network. The integration allows institutions in Canton to route tokenized assets securely across public blockchains. The organizations stated that the system maintains compliance and regulatory standards during transfers.
LayerZero designed its protocol to connect any token or application with any blockchain network. The company reported that its ecosystem represents over $100 billion in value. Through this link, that ecosystem can now access Canton’s institutional infrastructure.
Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of LayerZero Labs, outlined the operational scope of the integration. He said, “Canton has already built the rails for traditional finance, processing more than $350 billion in daily U.S. Treasury repo volume.” He added, “LayerZero’s job is to make sure those assets are available in every global market, across blockchains.”
BNP Paribas, DRW, Goldman Sachs, Liberty City Ventures, QCP, and Tradeweb have participated in testing Canton. The network confirmed ongoing collaboration with firms from both traditional and decentralized finance sectors. Canton stated that these participants contribute to network validation and infrastructure testing.
The integration now links institutional blockchain infrastructure with public networks through LayerZero’s protocol. Both organizations confirmed that institutions can transfer tokenized assets while retaining compliance controls. The companies released the announcement on Thursday as part of their joint update.
TLDR
- OKX said it will not rush into a U.S. IPO and will wait until it can deliver shareholder value.
- Haider Rafique said the company will only go public when it has confidence in long-term returns.
- OKX secured a strategic investment linked to Intercontinental Exchange that valued the company at $25 billion.
- Rafique said the firm intentionally priced the funding round conservatively despite strong revenue growth.
- He warned that poor stock performance by listed crypto firms has hurt the industry’s image.
OKX said it will not hurry into a U.S. IPO as it expands global operations. A senior executive linked the timing to shareholder returns and market performance. The company instead plans long-term growth across regions and tokenized finance.
OKX Ties IPO Plans to Shareholder Value and Market Timing
Haider Rafique said OKX will enter public markets only when it can deliver shareholder value. He spoke during the Digital Asset Summit in New York on Thursday. He said, “We will go public when we have confidence that we can give back shareholder value.”
He added that the firm will avoid listing without that confidence and clear performance targets. He said, “If we are not confident, there is no desire to go public.” He linked the approach to long-term planning and measured expansion.
OKX recently secured a strategic investment linked to Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange. The deal valued OKX at $25 billion, according to Rafique. He said the company priced the round conservatively despite revenue growth.
He said, “We did underprice ourselves when you look at our revenue growth and licenses.” He added that the pricing decision was intentional and tied to long-term returns. He said the company focused on durability over short-term valuation gains.
Rafique also referenced poor public market performance by crypto firms. He said he bought one share in a major listing that later fell 50%. He said, “That’s not a good thing, and that’s bad for the category.”
He did not name the company during the discussion. However, Coinbase trades nearly 50% below its 2021 IPO price. Other crypto-linked stocks have also faced price swings since listing.
Global Expansion and Tokenized Assets Drive OKX Strategy
Rafique warned that careless listings could hurt the broader crypto sector. He said, “If we treat going public like we treated ICOs, we are doomed.” He compared rushed IPOs to the release of millions of tokens last year.
He said OKX plans to build the company over 20 or 30 years. He described the IPO decision as tied to durability rather than timing. He said the firm wants stable growth before entering public markets.
OKX operates across Europe, Latin America, Asia, and other regions. Rafique said the exchange ranks among top venues in crypto derivatives. He contrasted that reach with U.S.-focused rivals like Coinbase and Kraken.
He said international exchanges benefit from liquidity across time zones. He said, “Our unified order book becomes a strong competitive advantage.” He added that this structure supports trading during U.S. off-hours.
The company also targets tokenized financial assets and blockchain infrastructure. Its partnership with Intercontinental Exchange supports plans to bring equities and other assets onchain. Rafique said OKX will act as a distribution layer for those products.
Solana (SOL) is trading at $87, still down 69% from its January 2025 peak near $295.91. The long-short ratio has skewed above 3:1 on some platforms with retail sitting 65.5% long. That is not a normal reading for an asset trading below every major moving average.
(Source – Coinalyze)
The open interest tells the real story. OI sits at roughly $2.2billion and is contracting, down, even as the long bias intensifies. Price moving up while open interest shrinks is a textbook squeeze signature. Not accumulation. Not conviction.
The math does not support a real rally here.
Discover: The best pre-launch token sales
SOL Derivatives Setup: Squeeze Risk or Breakout Fuel?
The long-short ratio is being misread by most traders watching it. It measures position count distribution, not capital weight. Longs and shorts are always structurally matched 1:1 in notional size on derivatives markets. A 3:1 long-short ratio means three times as many traders are positioned long, not that three times as much capital is long. That distinction is critical to understanding the actual risk here.
What makes the current setup unstable is the divergence between that bullish tilt and the absence of fresh capital. Sustained long bias with expanding open interest signals conviction. Sustained long bias with shrinking open interest signals a squeeze in progress, shorts being forced out, not bulls stepping in. The neutral funding rate of 0.0038% per 4-hour period confirms it: this is short covering, not new long entries.
On February 28, the largest single liquidation event pushed SOL to a 52-week low of $77.91, per exchange data. Short liquidations on March 5 totaled $2.58M, 75.6% of total liquidations, against just $0.83M in long liquidations. That 3:1 liquidation skew mirrors the ratio skew almost exactly. The squeeze mechanics are already running.
(Source – SOLUSD, TradingView)
Key technical levels define the binary. The 200-day moving average sits near $150 , structurally far above the current price and representing the ceiling of any meaningful recovery. Near-term, the Changelly model places April channel resistance at $102.51, with $100.37 as the lower bound of that zone. Below current price, the $77.91 February low is the last structural floor before open air.
The bull scenario: price clears $90–$92 with expanding open interest, funding rates tick positive, and the long bias becomes self-fulfilling as momentum traders pile in. SOL’s high-beta profile means a confirmed breakout accelerates fast, similar derivatives setups in other L1s have produced 20–30% moves within days once squeeze momentum flips to genuine accumulation.
The bear scenario: price stalls at resistance, overleveraged longs begin unwinding, and the same reflexivity that would accelerate upside now cascades downside. The Fear & Greed Index at 9, Extreme Fear, alongside a 65.5% long reading, puts the current positioning in the warning zone for pullbacks, as analysts describe it. A breach of $80 triggers the next liquidation cluster.
The long-short ratio is a pressure gauge. Right now it is elevated. That pressure resolves through continuation or liquidation, and without open interest expansion, the liquidation path carries a higher probability. Regulatory developments in crypto derivatives oversight also remain a macro overhang for leveraged positioning across the sector.
Discover: The best pre-launch token sales
Bitcoin Hyper Targets Early Mover Upside as Solana Tests Key Levels
While Solana navigates an unstable derivatives setup with no structural confirmation of reversal, smart money is rotating into Bitcoin Hyper, a Bitcoin-native L2 infrastructure project designed to bring EVM-compatible execution speed to BTC liquidity without wrapped token exposure.
The project differentiates itself through sub-second finality on a Bitcoin-settled chain, targeting the DeFi and perpetuals market currently dominated by Solana and Ethereum L2s. Its presale has raised $5.9M to date, with the current token price at $0.0115 and staking APY locked at 108% for early participants.
The presale window closes before the public DEX listing, which historically represents the highest-risk, highest-return entry point for infrastructure plays. Year-end SOL forecasts ranging from $250–$300 reflect broader L1 recovery expectations — but early-stage infrastructure projects with fixed presale pricing offer asymmetric upside independent of SOL’s near-term squeeze resolution.
Join the Bitcoin Hyper Presale Now
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, including total loss of capital. Always conduct your own research before making any financial decisions.
The post Solana Long-Short Ratio Signals Unusual Derivatives Positioning appeared first on Cryptonews.
Borrowers can pledge Bitcoin or USDC as down payment collateral without triggering a taxable event.
Coinbase and Better Home & Finance announced a partnership on Thursday to offer token-backed mortgages. The product aims to expand access to homeownership while carrying the same Fannie Mae backing as other conforming mortgages.
Qualifying Americans can now pledge Bitcoin or USDC as collateral to fund their cash down payment, securing a standard conforming mortgage without liquidating their digital assets or potentially triggering a taxable event.
How It Works
Instead of needing to come up with cash for the down payment, borrowers pledge their crypto holdings as collateral for a separate loan that covers the down payment. The result is two loans at closing: a standard Fannie Mae mortgage on the home, and a second loan secured by the pledged crypto. Both loans share the same interest rate and amortization term, so the borrower manages a single combined monthly payment — a structure the companies describe as a market first.
The mortgages are designed in accordance with Fannie Mae guidelines and structured as standard conforming loans, which the companies say will enable significantly lower interest rates than those traditionally associated with token-backed loans.
No Margin Calls
If Bitcoin’s value drops, the mortgage terms remain unchanged, and no additional collateral is required. Market movements alone never trigger liquidation. Collateral is only at risk of liquidation in the event of a 60-day payment delinquency, similar to conforming mortgages.
For borrowers who pledge USDC, the collateral earns rewards that can help offset mortgage payments, enabling borrowers to reduce their net effective interest rate.
Coinbase One members who close a crypto-backed or regular mortgage through Better are eligible for a rebate worth 1% of the mortgage value, capped at $10,000, to cover closing costs and fees.
Why It Matters
For decades, the path to homeownership has required Americans to sell assets, liquidate investments, or withdraw retirement savings to cover a cash down payment — often triggering capital gains taxes or early withdrawal penalties. Market reports suggest 52 million American adults, or roughly 20% of the adult population, have owned digital assets.
Until now, borrowers have not been able to get credit for those assets in the traditional mortgage underwriting process without first liquidating them. Crypto-backed mortgages change this by allowing onchain wealth to translate into real-world access, expanding the pathways to homeownership while preserving long-term investment positions.
Better CEO Vishal Garg said the partnership “introduces a new pathway to realizing the American Dream for the 52 million Americans who own digital assets.”
The companies plan to expand eligible collateral types over time to include tokenized equities, fixed income, and other tokenized real estate assets, pending market and regulatory conditions.
This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.
Onchain perpetual futures linked to real-world commodities like precious metals and oil have surged in trading volume, signaling an investor rotation from altcoins to commodity-linked digital assets, according to a report published Thursday by digital asset bank Sygnum.
Trading volume for oil and precious metals perpetual futures markets on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange (DEX) accounts for over 67% of HIP-3 contracts in Q1 2026, also known as “Builder-Deployed Perpetuals,” on the Hyperliquid platform, according to the report.
Previously, indexes accounted for about 90% of HIP-3 trading activity, but this has fallen to about 17%, according to Sygnum.
Weekend HIP-3 trading activity has surged by about 9x since January 2026, the report said, adding, “This is likely due to an uptick in crypto-native traders rotating into traditional assets as the broader altcoin market continues to underperform.”
Lucas Schweiger, Sygnum digital asset ecosystem research lead, told Cointelegraph that this shift toward onchain digital assets is corroborated by a 250% year-over-year surge in the market cap of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
There are about $23 billion in tokenized real-world assets that are traded on permissionless blockchain networks at the time of this writing, he said.
He also said that traders are treating altcoins as “leveraged BTC proxies.” Schweiger told Cointelegraph:
“That creates an environment where crypto-native capital naturally gravitates toward traditional asset perps that can be traded through the same wallet, using the same margin, just a different trade.”
The ongoing war in the Middle East and the disruption to energy infrastructure have caused oil prices to spike, while many altcoins are already down 80-90% below their all-time highs, according to Sygnum.
Related: Bitcoin leads, altcoin indicators drop to intriguing lows: Time for an altseason?
Recessionary concerns mount as Middle East war drags on
The war between the United States, Israel and Iran has disrupted critical energy infrastructure across the Middle East, causing global oil prices to spike to a high of about $120 per barrel.
Oil prices have whipsawed since the start of the conflict, rising or falling in response to comments made by US President Donald Trump and the Iranian government or ongoing developments in the geopolitical crisis.
If the price of oil remains above $100 per barrel in 2026, it will cause inflation to spike, according to Nic Puckrin, market analyst and founder of the Coinbureau media channel.
Traders are still pricing in a potential de-escalation or a quick end to the conflict, but Puckrin warned they may be in for a “rude awakening ”if the crisis persists and higher inflation derails any hopes of further interest rate cuts in 2026.
Since the start of the conflict on February 28, the odds of a US recession have surged to 36% on the Polymarket prediction market platform.
The US economy now has a near 50% chance of entering a recession in 2026, according to ratings agency Moody’s.
Magazine: Bitcoin’s ‘narrative vacuum,’ Ethereum now inevitable: Trade Secrets
XRP price is trading at $1.37, down as much as 3.1% in the last 24 hours, and the frustrating part is that none of the recent bullish prediction and catalysts have mattered.
Goldman Sachs became the largest XRP ETF buyer. Mastercard integrated Ripple into its payments program on March 11. Whales accumulated 1.3 billion XRP in early March. The price barely flinched. But one regulatory event could change all of that, and it’s hanging by a thread in the Senate.
The CLARITY Act would formally classify XRP as a digital commodity under federal law, placing it on the same statutory footing as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The bill cleared the House 294–134 with bipartisan support, but has stalled in the Senate over a stablecoin yield dispute.
Regulatory uncertainty continues to weigh on the broader crypto market, and Galaxy Digital has warned that the bill must clear the committee by the end of April, or it is likely dead for 2026. This deadline is now just weeks away.
With macro headwinds still in play and technicals deteriorating, the XRP price structure deserves a close look before assuming a CLARITY Act bounce is already priced in.
Discover: The best pre-launch token sales
XRP Price Prediction: Can Ripple Breach $1.51 Before the Senate Deadline?
XRP rejected hard at $1.60 earlier this week, printing a bearish pin bar that triggered a 3.3% single-day drop, according to Finance Magnates analysts. Price is now consolidating at just around $1.37, with the 50-day SMA sitting at $1.43 acting as immediate overhead resistance.
RSI reads 50, neutral, but trending lower. The sentiment dashboard shows 26 of 30 technical indicators flashing bearish.
The critical floor is at $1.27, the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level. A defense of that level opens a path back toward $1.51. Failure sends price toward $1.11–$1.13, a rangeanalysts are actively targeting on the downside.
The longer-term bull thesis, Elliott Wave targets of $5 then $27, depends entirely on legislative clarity materializing before institutional flows rotate elsewhere. That’s a meaningful “if.”
Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with
Bitcoin Hyper Attracts Early Movers as XRP Tests Key Support
For those watching XRP stall below resistance while a Senate deadline looms, the risk/reward calculus shifts. At the current market cap, a 2x from XRP requires billions in new capital. Even the most aggressive XRP targets remain constrained by its existing scale. Early-stage infrastructure plays offer a different entry profile.
Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is positioning as the first-ever Bitcoin Layer 2 with Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) integration, combining Bitcoin’s security with transaction throughput that its developers claim surpasses Solana itself. The project targets Bitcoin’s three core limitations: slow finality, high fees, and absence of programmable smart contracts.
Wow! Now this looks like it'll lead somewhere nice. — Bitcoin Hyper (@BTC_Hyper2) March 26, 2026
Bitcoin just found its fast lane. 
https://t.co/VNG0P4GuDo pic.twitter.com/ayZQyRm7m3
The presale has raised more than $32 million at a current token price of $0.0136, with staking available at high APY for early participants.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile. Always do your own research before investing.
The post XRP Price Prediction: Ripple To Run Once Clarity Act Passes? appeared first on Cryptonews.
The integration connects the dominant gold-backed token to BNB Chain’s RWA ecosystem amid a volatile stretch for spot gold prices.
Tether announced Wednesday that its tokenized gold product, XAU₮, is now available on BNB Chain, expanding the token’s reach to the third-largest decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem by total value locked (TVL).
Each XAU₮ token represents one fine troy ounce of physical gold held in Swiss vaults as a London Good Delivery bar. The token is issued by TG Commodities under El Salvador’s Digital Asset Issuance Law.
The move comes at a turbulent moment for gold markets. Spot gold is trading at roughly $4,400 per ounce, well below its all-time high of approximately $5,589 hit in January but still sharply higher year-over-year. Gold surged 64% in 2025, its largest annual gain in 40 years, as investors piled into safe-haven assets amid geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainty.
That rally fueled explosive growth in tokenized gold. The sector crossed $4 billion in market value in January, though the sector remains dominated by just two products, XAU₮ and PAXG, which control more than 95% of the market.
BNB Chain’s RWA Play
The expansion positions BNB Chain to capture more real-world asset activity.
Nina Rong, executive director of growth at BNB Chain, said the integration “extends what is already the second-largest RWA ecosystem by TVL” and gives users “a trusted, gold-backed asset they can use across DeFi without friction.”
Tether also said it has integrated XAU₮ via the USDT0 network, a cross-chain infrastructure layer that enables unified liquidity across blockchains.
Growing Competition
The listing comes as the tokenized gold sector faces growing scrutiny over its concentrated structure. The World Gold Council recently proposed shared infrastructure for tokenized gold products, arguing that the high barriers to entry, including the need to independently build custody relationships, compliance pipelines, audit frameworks, and redemption logistics, limit competition and hamper fungibility.
New entrants are also challenging the duopoly. In January, DeFi protocol Theo launched a yield-bearing tokenized gold product called thGOLD, designed to generate returns on idle gold exposure, something neither XAU₮ nor PAXG currently offers natively.
“People understand gold. They trust it because it has held value for millennia,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. “With XAU₮, we are not changing what gold is; we are making it usable in a modern financial system.”
The UK has sanctioned the operator of one of Cambodia’s largest scam compounds, and a major crypto-based Southeast Asia marketplace that sells stolen personal data to traffickers.
The measures are part of a wider international effort and seeks to protect UK residents from being scammed, aid Cambodia in its crackdown, and help stop human rights abuses.
The newly sanctioned firm Legend Innovation Co, and its director, Eang Soklim, ran a compound called #8 Park. The facility is believed to be the country’s largest such compound and can house up to 20,000 trafficking victims.
This compund is connected to the South Asian conglomerate Prince Group and its head, Chen Zi, who was arrested and extradited to China earlier this year.
The sanctions also targeted two of Chen’s allies, Thet Li, and Hu Xiaowei.
Read more: Cambodia has deported 48K foreigners since scam center crackdown began
One of the largest crypto-based criminal marketplaces, Xinbi, was also sanctioned.
Xinbi sells stolen personal data and satellite equipment to traffickers and has helped launder crypto assets stolen by North Korea.
The UK said the sanctions “will isolate the platform from the legitimate crypto ecosystem, significantly disrupting its operations by affecting its ability to send and receive cryptocurrency transactions.”
Crypto analytics firm Elliptic claims that Xinbi’s inflows have reached over $19.7 billion.
BSquare Technology, the sister firm of a Prince-linked crypto exchange BYEX, was also sanctioned today, alongside a Myanmar-based triad leader, and the wife of a Prince Group operator.
As a result of the latest sanctions, a number of London properties will be frozen. They join assets frozen as a result of previous action against the network, including a £100 million ($133 million) office block, two mansions, and a helicopter.
Joint effort to stop human trafficking scam networks
According to a UK government press release, “Across Southeast Asia, scam centers are using sophisticated schemes, including scams in which people are lured into fake romantic relationships, to defraud victims on an industrial scale, including in the UK.”
It added, “Today’s sanctions will have an immediate effect, further immobilising this scam network and its financial enablers, who have profited from the exploitation of vulnerable people.”
Read more: Billion-dollar scammer Chen Zhi arrested in Cambodia, extradited to China
Last month, Cambodia claimed to have deported over 48,000 foreign individuals recovered from scam center raids. Local authorities also claim to have targeted 2,500 compounds so far.
The government’s crackdown followed mounting international pressure from countries including China, the US, and South Korea.
Indeed, China has been busy executing scam center leaders, while the UK and the US sanctioned the Prince Group last year. This in turn led to the closure of the Prince Group-linked crypto exchange BYEX.
Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Major altcoins plunge, with ETH, SOL, and XRP dropping 5%.
Crypto markets sold off sharply on Thursday as oil surged back above $93 per barrel after U.S.-Iran peace talks stalled, dragging risk assets lower across the board.
Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at around $68,400, down 3.5% over the past 24 hours. ETH and SOL slipped 5% to $2,050 and $87, respectively. Meanwhile, Ripple (XRP) dropped 4.5%.
Total crypto market capitalization decreased 3.2% to $2.43 trillion, according to Coingecko.
ETF Flows
Spot Bitcoin ETFs posted net inflows of $7.8 million on Wednesday, with Fidelity’s FBTC leading the charge with $83 million. However, that was mostly offset by $70 million in outflows from BlackRock’s IBIT, according to SoSoValue.
Ethereum ETFs continued to underperform, recording net outflows of $8 million, led by BlackRock’s ETHA, with $33 million in withdrawals.
Big Movers
All of the Top 100 digital assets posted gains over the last 24 hours.
SIREN and MemeCore (M) are today’s biggest losers, plunging 30% and 13%, respectively.
Around 97,000 leveraged traders were liquidated for $305 million in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGlass. Bitcoin accounted for $93 million, while ETH made up $104 million.
Looking ahead, two catalysts loom on Friday: the PCE inflation report and the expiration of Trump’s five-day window for diplomacy with Iran.
The latest 160% rally in Bittensor (TAO) shows signs of exhaustion as it forms a golden-cross pattern on the chart that previously preceded steep corrections.
Key takeaways:
-
TAO prints a golden cross that has preceded 40% drawdown on average in the past.
-
Social volume for Bittensor is high, but retail euphoria remains muted.
TAO price risks 40% drawdown in the coming weeks
As of Thursday, March 26, TAO’s 20-day exponential moving average (20-day EMA, the green line) was crossing above its 200-day exponential moving average (200-day EMA, the blue wave).
Traders typically view a short-term average moving above a long-term one as a bullish signal. In TAO’s case, however, the pattern has often appeared near local tops, sometimes triggering brief upside follow-through before reversing sharply.
In the last three similar crossovers, TAO dropped by roughly 38.50%, 32.50%, and 45.50% within five-six weeks. That amounts to an average drawdown of about 40%, raising Bittensor’s odds of falling to $200 by early May if the pattern repeats.
TAO’s downside risk is rising further as its relative strength index (RSI) has stayed above the 70 overbought threshold for weeks. The reading suggests the recent rally may have gone too far, too fast, raising the risk of profit-taking or a short-term cooldown.
Broader macro conditions add to the bearish case, as the escalating US–Iran war lifts oil prices, fuels inflation risks, and weakens the case for near-term Federal Reserve easing.
TAO rally still lacks euphoric retail sentiment
TAO’s rally has triggered a sharp increase in online discussion without the kind of euphoric sentiment that typically marks local tops, according to data resource Santiment.
Social volume across X, Reddit, Telegram, and other platforms has climbed to its second-highest level in six months, trailing only the frenzy seen near TAO’s $529 peak in November.
At the same time, sentiment remains relatively subdued, with only 1.5 positive comments for every negative one.
“This is generally a good sign that the rally can continue, with little interference from greedy traders that typically signal forming tops,” Santiment said.
Related: AI and stablecoins are winning despite 2026 crypto market slump
Still, TAO’s golden cross fractal suggests that even rallies driven by improving sentiment can turn into bull traps.
In the last three similar golden-cross setups, TAO still rallied by roughly 15.6%, 5.7%, and 42.6% before reversing lower.
That puts the average post-cross upside at around 21.30%, hinting at a short-term Bittensor price rally toward $420 or higher before exhaustion sets in.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
East Kilbride school praised by inspectors following recent visit
Bill Cosby Hit With $59M Verdict in 1972 Sexual Assault Civil Case
Goldman Sachs-Backed Canton Links With LayerZero
-
Crypto World6 days agoNIO (NIO) Stock Plunges 6.5% as Shelf Registration Sparks Dilution Worries
-
Fashion6 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Adidas – Corporette.com
-
NewsBeat1 day agoManchester United reach agreement with Casemiro over contract clause amid transfer speculation
-
Politics6 days agoJenni Murray, Long-Serving Woman’s Hour Presenter, Dies Aged 75
-
Crypto World5 days agoBest Crypto to Buy Now: Strategy Just Spent $1.57 Billion on Bitcoin During Fear While Early Investors Quietly Enter Pepeto for 150x Potential
-
Crypto World5 days agoBitcoin Price News: Bhutan Sells $72 Million in BTC Under Fiscal Pressure, but the Smart Money Entering Pepeto Sees What the Market Does Not
-
Tech7 days agoinKONBINI Lets You Spend Summer Days Behind the Register
-
News Videos18 hours agoParliament publishes latest register of MPs’ financial interests
-
Sports3 days agoRemo Stars and Kano Pillars Strengthen Survival Hopes in NPFL
-
Business4 days agoNo Winner in March 21 Drawing as Prize Rolls to $133 Million for Next
-
Sports3 days agoGary Kirsten Accuses Pakistan Cricket Board Of ‘Interference’, Mohsin Naqvi Responds
-
Tech4 days agoGive Your Phone a Huge (and Free) Upgrade by Switching to Another Keyboard
-
Sports6 days ago2026 Kentucky Derby horses, odds, futures, preview, date: Expert who nailed 12 Derby-Oaks Doubles enters picks
-
Tech4 days agoAI enters the chat: New Seattle dating app relies on tech to facilitate meaningful human connections
-
Business7 days agoDLocal: Entering 2026 At Escape Velocity
-
Business6 days ago
Columbia Sportswear enters $500 million credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase
-
Tech5 days agoToday’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers for March 22 #1015
-
News Videos3 days agoCh 9 Financial Management Part 1 | Detailed One Shot | Class 12 Business Studies Boards 2026
-
Business4 days agoWill Duke Basketball Win It All? Duke Basketball Enters Second Round as Third Favorite to Claim NCAA Title
-
Sports4 days ago2026 Kentucky Derby horses, odds, futures, preview, date: Expert who hit 12 Derby-Oaks Doubles enters picks
You must be logged in to post a comment Login