Crypto World
Bitcoin Dips to $60k as TRM Labs Joins Crypto Unicorn Club
Crypto markets endured a brutal week as liquidity worries resurfaced in the wake of a high-profile Federal Reserve nomination. Investors watched US liquidity signals tighten while Bitcoin ETFs experienced notable outflows, contributing to choppy price action across the sector. The period also featured a string of high-profile financing moves and notable risk events that underscored the fragility of liquidity and risk appetite in crypto markets. Bitcoin and other large assets began to show resilience only after a brief slide, with traders assessing how policy shifts could shape funding conditions in the months ahead.
Key takeaways
- Bitcoin ETFs saw three consecutive days of outflows totaling about $431 million, underscoring persistent liquidity concerns even as spot prices fluctuated and regained ground.
- The crypto market’s largest price swing this week came as BTC traded near the $60,000 neighborhood before reclaiming the $64,000 level, highlighting a delicate balance between selling pressure and support at key levels.
- TRM Labs closed a $70 million Series C, valuing the blockchain intelligence firm at $1 billion and signaling continued investor confidence in on-chain analytics as a bulwark against AI-augmented cybercrime.
- Avalanche’s on-chain tokenization activity surged in Q4, with real-world asset tokenization rising to more than $1.3 billion in TVL and daily momentum aided by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund and other institutional partnerships.
- Jupiter secured a $35 million strategic investment from ParaFi Capital, marking the first time Solana-based Jupiter accepted outside capital while expanding beyond swaps into perpetuals, lending and stablecoins.
Tickers mentioned: $BTC, $AVAX, $JUP, $SOL, $ZEC
Sentiment: Bearish
Price impact: Negative. The week’s liquidity concerns and continued selloffs pressured prices, with intraday volatility driven by ETF outflows and leveraged-liquidation activity.
Trading idea (Not Financial Advice): Hold. The near-term setup suggests sensitivity to macro signals and policy cues, but liquidity adaptations by major players could offer selective opportunities in risk-managed positions.
Market context: The period reflected broader crypto-market liquidity dynamics, policy expectations around the Federal Reserve, and ongoing flows into and out of crypto-related products that influence price trajectories and risk appetite.
Why it matters
The week highlighted how macro policy choices and liquidity conditions remain core to crypto pricing. The nomination of Kevin Warsh to head the Federal Reserve has sparked debate about whether policy will tilt toward stabilizing liquidity flows or sustaining tight funding conditions. Traders closely watched whether the nomination would translate into a more cautious stance on rate reductions and balance-sheet expansion, potentially placing continued pressure on risk assets, including digital currencies and DeFi platforms.
Meanwhile, institutional interest in on-chain analytics and risk-management tools continued to rise. TRM Labs’ unicorn status after a $70 million Series C underscores the market’s belief that blockchain intelligence and anti-fraud capabilities will be central to enterprise risk management as digital asset ecosystems grow in scale and complexity. The round, led by Blockchain Capital with participation from Goldman Sachs and others, signals ongoing appetite among traditional financial players to integrate crypto-native risk controls into broader financial operations.
On the product and network side, tokenization within Avalanche continued to gain momentum, a trend amplified by the involvement of traditional finance players. The platform’s growth in tokenizing real-world assets, combined with the launch of BlackRock’s BUIDL fund and the S&P Dow Jones partnership with Dinari, demonstrates how tokenized money markets, loans and indexes are becoming more central to institutional experimentation. The quarter’s numbers—an increase of tokenized real-world asset value by hundreds of percent year over year—underscore a shift from speculation toward utility in tokenized finance at scale.
In parallel, Jupiter’s infusion of outside capital marked a turning point for a Solana-based protocol that has long driven on-chain trading and liquidity aggregation. The ParaFi-led investment, coupled with the company’s expansion into on-chain perpetuals, lending and stablecoins, reinforces the trend of traditional funds seeking strategic exposure to fully on-chain ecosystems that promise deeper liquidity and more resilient product suites. The market also watched for the token’s performance, with Jupiter’s native token price rising in response to the news.
Still, the week wasn’t without turbulence. The Solana ecosystem saw a significant breach in treasury management on one DeFi platform, and other episodes highlighted the ongoing cybersecurity and operational risks that confront decentralized finance as activity scales. While some platforms have moved toward more centralized governance or governance-sharing arrangements, the overarching arc remains: innovation is accelerating, but risk controls must keep pace to sustain long-term confidence.
In aggregate, the DeFi universe ended the week with a mixed risk lens. While several projects advanced tokenization and institutional collaboration, broader market momentum remained tethered to policy signals and the health of traditional liquidity channels. The week’s data points—ranging from ETF withdrawals to multi-billion-dollar liquidation events—reflect a crypto market in transition: not only growing in sophistication but also increasingly sensitive to macro policy and systemic liquidity dynamics.
Avalanche tokenization hits Q4 high as BlackRock’s BUIDL expands onchain
Blockchain network Avalanche demonstrated notable institutional traction in tokenizing traditional assets during the fourth quarter. Total value locked (TVL) in tokenized real-world assets on Avalanche rose 68.6% quarter over quarter and nearly 950% year over year, surpassing $1.3 billion, according to Messari’s state-of-Avalanche Q4 2025 report. The surge was driven in part by the November launch of BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), alongside broader deployments in tokenized money markets and loans.
The momentum was helped by strategic collaborations—Fortune 500 fintech FIS teamed with Avalanche-based Intain to bring tokenized loans to market, enabling securitization of billions of dollars in credit activity. The S&P Dow Jones Digital Markets 50 Index, launched in partnership with Dinari on Avalanche, tracks a cross-section of crypto-linked stocks and tokens and underscores the ongoing push to tie traditional benchmarks to on-chain exposure. The combination of these partnerships has supported a notable expansion of tokenized assets on the platform, contributing to a broader middleware layer that bridges real-world value with blockchain rails.
Traditional finance institutions are increasingly comfortable experimenting with tokenization, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s more constructive stance toward crypto products has further lowered the regulatory headwinds facing such projects. This backdrop helps explain why on-chain asset issuance and tokenized funding mechanisms have gained traction on Avalanche, with real-world assets expanding beyond conventional crypto collateral and into more diversified financial instruments.
ParaFi Capital makes $35M investment in Solana-based Jupiter
Jupiter, a Solana-based on-chain trading and liquidity-aggregation protocol, announced a $35 million strategic investment led by ParaFi Capital. The deal marks the first time Jupiter has accepted external capital after years of bootstrapped growth. The investment included token purchases at market prices with no discount and an extended lockup period, settled entirely in Jupiter’s JupUSD stablecoin. The terms also included warrants allowing ParaFi to acquire additional tokens at higher prices, aligning long-term incentives with Jupiter’s growth trajectory.
The capital infusion comes as Jupiter broadens its product suite. After delivering a beta on-chain prediction market with Kalshi, the project rolled out JupUSD, a Solana-native stablecoin designed for on-chain settlement. Jupiter’s trading volume has surpassed $1 trillion in the past year, reflecting a rapid acceleration of liquidity and on-chain efficiency on Solana. The company has since expanded beyond swaps to perpetuals and lending, signaling a broader push to become an all-in-one on-chain liquidity hub.
Jupiter’s native token (JUP) responded to the news, rising roughly 9% over the prior 24 hours, underscoring investor appetite for Solana-native ecosystems that couple high throughput with diversified on-chain products. This momentum reflects a broader trend of cross-platform collaboration, where on-chain trading, governance, and liquidity provisioning are increasingly integrated with real-world asset workflows and institutional-grade risk controls.
Aave winds down Avara, phases out Family wallet in DeFi refocus
Aave Labs announced a strategic refocusing by winding down its umbrella brand Avara, which encompassed projects including the Family wallet and Lens, as the group doubles down on core DeFi initiatives. Stani Kulechov, Aave’s founder and CEO, noted that Avara is no longer required as the company concentrates on delivering broad DeFi access to users, with onboarding millions of users requiring purpose-built experiences rather than generic wallet interfaces.
The move aligns with Aave’s broader strategy to reallocate resources toward its flagship lending protocol and other core DeFi products. As governance and ecosystem partnerships evolve, projects like Lens have seen stewardship shifts to other collaborations, enabling Aave to focus on what it terms “DeFi for everyone.” The decision underscores the ongoing recalibration within the market as crypto firms chase product-market fit at scale and navigate regulatory expectations alongside user growth.
Kulechov indicated that the total effort within the team remains focused on unifying engineering and design toward a singular mission: bringing DeFi to a broad audience. The development trajectory suggests continued emphasis on user-friendly, accessible financial primitives and streamlined onboarding processes rather than sprawling, multi-brand architectures.
What to watch next
- Next batch of ETF outflow data and liquidity indicators to gauge whether funding conditions stabilize or deteriorate.
- Federal Reserve policy signals and potential implications for risk assets as the Warsh nomination progresses through confirmation and policy debate.
- Continued institutional participation in tokenization and on-chain finance, including Avalanche’s RWAs and partnerships with traditional finance players.
- Jupiter’s ongoing product expansion and ParaFi’s involvement in governance and token strategies.
Sources & verification
- Data on Bitcoin ETF outflows and price movements from Farside Investors and Cointelegraph coverage.
- Record of the Jan. 31 liquidation event reported by CoinGlass and related market data.
- TRM Labs’ Series C funding round and unicorn status as announced in its press release.
- Messari’s State of Avalanche Q4 2025 report, detailing RWAs and TVL growth.
- ParaFi Capital’s $35 million investment in Jupiter and the terms of the deal.
The Iran war and oil surge rocked global equity markets this month. Yet bitcoin barely budged — because large traders, institutional flows and sizeable wallet holders stepped in during the dips, keeping demand firm even as traditional markets wobbled.
Major oil benchmarks, Brent and WTI, have surged 30% this month, trading above $100 per barrel early Monday. The massive surge has weighed heavily on Asian equity markets and also caused downside volatility in Asian and European equities.
Bitcoin, however, has risen nearly 4% to $70,200 this month, according to CoinDesk data. The market has been propped by large traders snapping up BTC over-the-counter (OTC) in a privately negotiated deal, according to Paul Howard, senior director at high-frequency trading firm and liquidity provider Wincent.
“The demand has been driven by some large over-the-counter [OTC] trades, positioning for a swift end to the conflict in Iran, and also MSTR’s acquisition. The timing of which, with the geopolitical events, may be an indicator of confidence returning to risk assets,” Howard said in an email to CoinDesk.
OTC desks are private trading venues where buyers and sellers can execute large cryptocurrency transactions without going through public exchanges. Instead of placing orders on open order books, trades are negotiated directly between parties or facilitated by a broker. Large traders and institutions typically trade over-the-counter to avoid influencing the spot market price.
Howard also highlighted renewed investor interest in the popular “carry trade,” where traders short (bearish bet) Strategy (MSTR) stock while buying bitcoin ETFs at the same time. The strategy profits if BTC rises faster than MSTR falls, allowing traders to hedge risk while still benefiting from bitcoin’s moves.
Speaking of ETFs, the 11 U.S.-listed funds have registered net inflows of over $700 million this month, according to data source SoSoValue. That’s a sign of renewed institutional appetite for the cryptocurrency.
“Institutional flows have also turned supportive. Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have seen net inflows of around $1.7 billion since late February. This reversed a stretch of outflows that lasted roughly four months. For the March 8-10 period, flows contributed to a weekly net inflow of about $568 million,” Vikram Subburaj, CEO of India-based Giottus exchange, said.
Nexo, meanwhile, pointed to Strategy’s continued accumulation of bitcoin as a major bullish factor. The Nasdaq-listed firm purchased 17,994 BTC between March 2 and March 8, boosting its total holdings to 738,731 BTC.
The latest purchase matches several days’ worth of new bitcoin entering the market.
“The network has now surpassed 20 million BTC mined, leaving fewer than 1 million coins to be issued. At roughly 450 BTC per day, incremental supply remains limited. Strategy added 17,994 BTC, equivalent to approximately five weeks of issuance, bringing its holdings to roughly 3.7% of the circulating supply,” Nexo’s analyst Iliya Kalchev told CoinDesk.
Demand also funneled through bullish on-chain activity.
“Larger wallets holding more than 1,000 BTC added roughly 0.3% to their balances during recent dips. This points to prudent accumulation during periods of weakness,” Vikram Subburaj said.
He added that more than 400,000 BTC recently changed hands between $60,000 and $70,000.
Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm reacted after federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York asked a judge to schedule an October retrial on two criminal counts that a jury previously failed to resolve.
Summary
- SDNY prosecutors requested an October retrial for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm on two unresolved charges.
- A prior jury deadlocked on money-laundering and sanctions counts after a four-week trial.
- Storm says the two counts carry up to 40 years in prison if he is ultimately convicted.
U.S. prosecutors push for second trial of Roman Storm after jury deadlock
In a letter filed with U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, prosecutors requested that the court set a new trial date in October to retry Storm on conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions. These are the two charges on which jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict after weeks of testimony and deliberation.
The filing follows Storm’s earlier trial in Manhattan, which lasted roughly four weeks. At the conclusion of the proceedings, a 12-member jury returned a split outcome, reaching a verdict on one count while deadlocking on the two remaining charges.
As the jury could not reach a unanimous decision on those counts, the court declared a mistrial on them.
Prosecutors now argue that the unresolved charges should be retried before a new jury and proposed October as the timeframe for the proceedings.
Storm publicly responded to the filing in a social media post, saying the government was seeking another trial despite the earlier jury deadlock. He noted that jurors had been unable to reach a unanimous decision on the money-laundering and sanctions-related counts after hearing the full case presented by prosecutors.
According to Storm, the two unresolved counts together carry a potential sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison if a future jury were to convict.
“The 2 counts = up to 40 years in federal prison. For writing open-source code. For a protocol I don’t control. For transactions I never touched. A jury already couldn’t agree this was criminal. But the SDNY prosecutors want to keep trying with the hope of getting a different answer,” Storm wrote on Twitter.
Storm, who helped develop the privacy protocol Tornado Cash, also said the prospect of another trial poses significant financial challenges for his defense. He stated that his legal defense funds had largely been exhausted after the initial four-week trial.
Judge Failla has not yet ruled on the prosecutors’ request to set a new trial date or issued a schedule for how the case will proceed.
Excess leverage in crypto markets has virtually dissappeared which could result in a healthier spot-based market recovery, say analysts.
Global tensions, particularly the Iran-US conflict, have rattled crypto markets and pushed investors away from risk-taking.
“Periods like this are generally not favorable for risk-taking, and this can be clearly observed in the sharp decline of Bitcoin’s Estimated Leverage Ratio on Binance,” said CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost on Monday.
The metric measures the intensity with which investors use leverage and is calculated by comparing the futures Open Interest (OI) with the amount of BTC reserves held on the exchange. Since February, this ratio has fallen sharply from 0.198 to 0.152 — coinciding with Bitcoin dropping from $96,000to $69,000.
A Healthier Market Dynamic
If the ratio remains low while Bitcoin consolidates, it likely signals that spot buying rather than leveraged speculation is becoming the dominant price driver, which is a generally healthier dynamic.
“Lower leverage generally means less systemic pressure, which can help stabilize price action before the market enters a new directional phase.”
🗞️Bitcoin leverage reset after market volatility
“Since February, Bitcoin’s Estimated Leverage Ratio on Binance has dropped from 0.198 to 0.152, representing a significant and rapid decline. This type of move is typically observed after periods of strong volatility and major… pic.twitter.com/q1MVOR5CZa
— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) March 9, 2026
In a separate post, CryptoQuant analyst “IT tech” said that “bottom callers are multiplying.” One metric just hit 29 consecutive days in distress territory, they added, highlighting the Bitcoin long-term holder-to-short-term holder SOPR ratio, which is at 0.89.
“Recent buyers are underwater. LTHs aren’t selling, but they’re not absorbing either. STH capitulation building, but nowhere near extremes. Calling a structural low here is premature.”
Meanwhile, Glassnode reported on Monday that momentum has “firmed modestly,” with RSI lifting from recent lows, “but price action still lacks the strength of a decisive bullish shift.”
“Spot activity remains subdued, with lower trading volume pointing to softer participation even as conditions begin to stabilize.”
Crypto Market Outlook
Spot markets have climbed 4.3% on the day to reach $2.46 trillion in a move that follows US President Trump’s comments that the war with Iran could be “over soon.” Bitcoin reclaimed $70,000 in early trading in Asia on Tuesday as oil prices tanked 28% from Monday’s high of $120.
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Ether remained weak, but it was holding above the $2,000 level at the time of writing. Meanwhile, some altcoins were seeing larger gains, including Hyperliquid and Zcash, which surged more than 11% each.
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US prosecutors have requested a retrial of crypto mixer Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two charges at his trial last year.
US Attorney for Manhattan Jay Clayton asked federal Judge Katherine Polk Failla in a letter on Monday for a trial date to retry Storm on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions.
The letter asked the court for the retrial to begin on or around Oct. 5 to 12, with the trial expected to last three weeks. It said prosecutors were prepared to retry the case as early as spring, between March and May, but Storm’s defense lawyers said they weren’t available until late 2026.
In August, a jury convicted Storm of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, but was deadlocked on the money laundering and sanctions violation conspiracy charges, which has allowed prosecutors to retry those charges.
Storm had pleaded not guilty and asked Judge Polk Failla in October to acquit him of the money transmitting charge, arguing prosecutors failed to prove he intended to help bad actors use Tornado Cash.
Clayton wrote in his letter that Storm’s lawyers told prosecutors that setting a new trial date was premature due to the pending acquittal motion, which wouldn’t be resolved until early April, when it is scheduled for argument.
Prosecutors hope for “different answer,” says Storm
Storm posted on X that the two counts the government plans to retry him on could see him spend “up to 40 years in federal prison. For writing open-source code. For a protocol I don’t control. For transactions I never touched.”
“A jury already couldn’t agree this was criminal. But the SDNY [Southern District of New York] prosecutors want to keep trying with the hope of getting a different answer,” he added.
Amanda Tuminelli, the legal chief at crypto advocacy group the DeFi Education Fund, said the Justice Department’s decision to retry Storm was “incredibly disappointing.”
“Despite failing to convince a jury the first time around, despite making obvious mistakes like calling irrelevant witnesses and not understanding the forensic analysis of their own blockchain evidence, and despite multiple legal and logical fallacies to their allegations of third-party dev liability, the SDNY will retry Roman Storm,” she added.
Related: DOJ finalizes $400M crypto forfeiture in Helix Bitcoin mixer case
Clayton’s letter comes as a report that the US Treasury submitted to Congress this month acknowledged some lawful uses of crypto mixers, including those who use such services “to maintain more privacy in their consumer spending habits.”
In his X post, Storm also noted that US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche had issued a memo in April saying the Justice Department “is not a digital assets regulator,” and the agency would “no longer pursue litigation or enforcement actions that have the effect of superimposing regulatory frameworks on digital assets.”
“Same country, same DOJ — just filed to retry me anyway,” Storm said.
Magazine: Can privacy survive in US crypto policy after Roman Storm’s conviction?
Non-fungible token lending platform Gondi has vowed to compensate users affected in a Monday exploit during which the attacker stole roughly $230,000 worth of NFTs from the protocol.
Summary
- Gondi confirmed an exploit in its Sell & Repay contract allowed an attacker to steal about $230,000 worth of escrowed NFTs, prompting the platform to disable the feature.
- The protocol said affected users will be compensated by purchasing comparable NFTs from the same collections.
According to a post-incident update, Gondi confirmed that an exploit of its “Sell & Repay contract” allowed an attacker to withdraw roughly $230,000 worth of escrowed NFTs from the protocol. The contract allows borrowers to sell escrowed NFTs and subsequently repay outstanding loans on the platform.
An updated version of the contract was deployed on Feb. 20, but Gondi did not clarify how the vulnerability was exploited.
The exploit did not impact any other parts of the protocol, and the platform has paused the contract as it works on a fix while other services remain operational.
“All users who interacted with this contract and were impacted have been contacted directly by our team,” Gondi wrote. In a subsequent update, the protocol said it plans on making affected users whole by purchasing comparable items from the same collection.
“While not the exact same piece, we believe this is a fair and meaningful resolution and are coordinating directly with each owner,” it added.
Gondi has since been reviewed by the team at Blockaid and an independent auditor, who have concluded that the protocol is safe to use.
According to Blockaid, the attacker started selling some of the stolen NFTs after the exploit. As of the last update, Gondi said that the attacker’s wallet still contained some of the stolen NFTs while the remainder was sold to “innocent buyers who had no knowledge of the exploit.”
“We reached out to each of them directly and asked for their help in returning the items to their rightful owners,” it added.
Meanwhile, at least four NFTs were recovered and returned by the NFT community, including Aluminum Gazer, Servant of the Muse, Doodle, and Lil Pudgy.
The platform said it was using its protocol fees to buy back recovered items and compensate affected users.
The Gondi exploit marks the second attack in two weeks. As previously reported by crypto.news, Bitcoin-focused DeFi platform Solv Protocol was exploited late last week, allowing the hacker to drain roughly $2.7 million worth of funds from one of its token vaults.
Bitcoin managed to avoid losses suffered by global stock markets over oil supply uncertainty, with a 5% relief bounce from its weekly open level.
Bitcoin (BTC) returned to $69,000 at Monday’s Wall Street open with markets in limbo over the Middle East oil crisis.
Key points:
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Bitcoin sees a rebound after dropping below $68,000 for the weekly close.
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Oil woes continue as the G7 fails to agree on a timeline for the release of reserve oil supplies.
-
Bitcoin derivatives traders stay level-headed on the mid-term outlook.
Analysis: Trump wants to buy time with oil
Data from TradingView showed BTC price action continuing a rebound that began just before the weekly close.
Now up 5% on the day, BTC/USD showed strength relative to global stock markets, with Asia particularly sensitive to the ongoing suspension of oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
A dedicated meeting of the G7 countries to discuss the release of 400 million barrels of crude from their joint reserves ended in indecision on the day.
“The G7 countries have ~1.2 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, which is equivalent to ~60 days of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. 400 million barrels can supply roughly 20 days worth of Strait of Hormuz oil flows,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter responded in a post on X.
“But, it’s a risk. If the war rages on once these stockpiles are depleted, the world would enter an unprecedented energy crisis.”
Kobeissi argued that US President Donald Trump was “looking to ‘buy’ a couple more weeks” with the initiative.
WTI oil was still up 9% on the day at the time of writing, circling $100 per barrel amid considerable volatility.
Gold, meanwhile, lacked the momentum to head closer toward all-time highs after starting the week with a retest of $5,000.
Commenting, trading company QCP Capital noted a rotation from gold to the US dollar as a hedge against the current geopolitical uncertainty.
“With uncertainty rising, global equity markets have turned defensive. That said, US Treasuries and gold also failed to provide their usual haven bid, with both coming under pressure as surging crude prices stoke inflation fears and push yields higher,” it wrote in its latest “Market Color” analysis post.
“Instead, the US dollar has emerged as the preferred defensive asset, supported by elevated yields and the US’s status as a net energy exporter.”
Bitcoin options traders see no “one-way decline”
Bitcoin thus eyed key price points that bulls had failed to reclaim at the weekly close.
Related: Bitcoin braces for oil shock and death crosses: 5 things to know this week
Here, crypto trader, analyst and entrepreneur Michaël van de Poppe hoped that oil would settle down, allowing for BTC price relief.
“Bitcoin continues to show strength and it’s already back up to $69K,” he acknowledged.
“If Oil continues to fall and indices break back upwards, I would assume that we’ll start to see a continuation towards the range high again.”
QCP pointed to the “more nuanced outlook” for the market being created by derivatives traders.
“For example, the purchase of 500x BTC 24APR26 72k straddle points to expectations of continued volatility rather than a sharp, one-way decline,” it continued about options.
“Notably, March’s highest open interest is concentrated at the 75k and 125k call strikes. While a rapid recovery to these levels remains unlikely, this positioning signals pockets of renewed optimism in BTC despite ongoing macro and geopolitical uncertainty.”
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.
Ethereum treasury company Sharplink has reported a $734.6 million net loss for 2025 due to a crypto market decline in the second half of the year.
The firm posted its financial results for the year on Monday, revealing that its full-year net loss was primarily driven by a $616.2 million paper loss on the 868,699 Ether (ETH) it has accumulated to date.
Adding to its losses was a $140.2 million impairment charge related to converting its staked Ether.
Ethereum saw rocky performance in the second half of 2025. While its price climbed to $4,829 in August, the October market crash saw it spiraling down to close the year at roughly $3,000.
Despite the losses, the firm said it will continue to buy more Ether, arguing that its strategy is designed to weather crypto volatility.
“While short-term market volatility impacted GAAP financial results, our strategy is designed to excel through cycles. Our mandate is simple: increase ETH per share responsibly and maximize the productivity of our treasury through time,” Sharplink said.
Sharplink, chaired by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, pivoted from being a sports betting marketing company to becoming a digital asset treasury in June 2025.
Sharplink is looking to gradually increase its Ether-per-share ratio to create long-term shareholder value. The firm said it managed to more than double this ratio in 2025, going from 2 ETH per share to 4.01 ETH per share.
Despite taking a hit on the value of its ETH holdings, total revenue jumped 659% from $3.7 million to $28.1 million in 2025. Meanwhile, ETH staking revenue increased by 48.5% from Q3 to Q4 to hit $15.3 million.
For the year, the firm also banked $55.2 million from its ETH-to-liquid-staked-ETH conversions and redemptions.
Related: Ether’s path to $2.5K may be trickier than expected: Here’s why
After securing $3.2 billion in funding across 2025, Sharplink has become the second-largest publicly traded Ethereum holder behind BitMine Immersion Technologies, which now holds over 4.5 million ETH, representing 3.76% of the total supply.
BitMine also reportedly has major paper losses on its Ethereum holdings, with some estimates hitting as high as $8.8 billion amid a 60% drop in ETH over the past six months.
The price of Sharplink’s stock, SBET, has been volatile over the past 12 months and is up 67% since this time last year to sit at $7.60 at the time of writing.
The price skyrocketed 1,000% in the span of a week to hit almost $80 following its initial Ether treasury announcement in late May, before falling after the firm made its pivot.
Over the last six months, the price has declined by more than 50%.
Magazine: What’s a ‘Network State’ and are there real-life examples? Big Questions
Cryptocurrencies linked to artificial intelligence, such as Bittensor’s TAO, NEAR Protocol, Internet Computer, and others rallied after Wired reported that Nvidia is preparing a new open-source platform for autonomous AI agents, a concept similar to the OpenClaw framework, ahead of its annual developer conference.
The broader artificial intelligence token category rose about 4.8% to roughly $14.17 billion in market value, outperforming the wider crypto market, where the CoinDesk 20 index was up 2.86%. Among the majors, Bittensor’s TAO led the move, with NEAR Protocol and Internet Computer also advancing.
Nvidia’s new platform, according to Wired, will be called NemoClaw. The system would allow enterprise software companies to deploy AI agents that can perform multi-step tasks for employees, and Nvidia has reportedly approached firms including Salesforce, Cisco, Google, Adobe, and CrowdStrike about potential partnerships ahead of its developer conference next week.
Wired says NemoClaw is expected to include security and privacy tools for enterprise use and is part of Nvidia’s broader strategy to expand its software ecosystem while maintaining its dominance in AI infrastructure.
Nvidia’s GTC developer conference begins March 17.
Investment advisors were the biggest buyers of the US-based spot Solana ETFs at over $270 million, while hedge fund managers came in next at $186 million.
Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Electric Capital Partners and investment bank Goldman Sachs were the two largest buyers of spot Solana exchange-traded funds, which launched for trading in the US in October last year.
Data shared by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart on Monday shows that the top 30 institutional holders of US spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded funds bought over $540 million worth of the ETFs in the quarter.
Electric Capital and Goldman Sachs took out the top two positions with $137.8 million and $107.4 million worth of Solana ETF exposure, while Elequin Capital, SIG Holding and Multicoin Capital rounded out the top five.
Morgan Stanley and Citadel Advisors were among the other notable institutions that bought spot Solana ETFs after Bitwise launched the first Securities and Exchange Commission-approved spot Solana ETF on Oct. 28.
Seyffart’s data comes from 13F filings submitted to the SEC in mid-February, where institutions managing over $100 million in assets are required to disclose their Q4 holdings and position sizes.
Investment advisors accounted for by far the largest share of spot Solana ETF ownership at over $270 million, while hedge fund managers came in next at $186.4 million.
Holding companies and brokerage firms held $59.5 million and $20.3 million, while banks held $4.5 million.
The $540 million in Solana ETF holdings was backed by approximately 4.3 million SOL tokens.
However, those 4.3 million SOL tokens have fallen over 30% in market value since the end of Q4, from $124.95 to $86.53 at the time of writing.
SOL ETF net flows steadying despite price fall
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted on Thursday that cumulative flows into spot Solana ETFs have held strong in recent months despite Solana’s price fall.
Related: US banking lobby considers suing OCC over crypto bank charters: Report
Balchunas also noted that 50% of Solana ETF assets are held by these 13F-filing firms, arguably making for a more serious investor base.
Farside Investors data shows that US spot Solana ETFs have accumulated $952 million worth of inflows since launching in the US.
Magazine: What’s a ‘Network State’ and are there real-life examples? Big Questions
Major tokens snapped back on Tuesday as ceasefire optimism rippled through risk markets.
Ether reclaimed $2,029, up 2.6% over the past 24 hours and back above the $2,000 level that has served as a psychological pivot for weeks. Solana led the recovery at 2.9% to $85.67. BNB added 2.6% to $639. XRP gained 1.7% to $1.37. Dogecoin lagged at just 1% and remains down 1.4% on the week, continuing to underperform the broader market on every bounce.
The catalyst was U.S. president Donald Trump telling reporters late Monday that the Iran conflict would resolve “very soon” and that U.S. military objectives were “pretty well complete.” Asian equities surged 2% after Monday’s 3.7% plunge. Tech stocks in the MSCI Asia Pacific index jumped 3.5%. Oil fell from Monday’s spike above $100.
Analysts at Nansen said in an email that crypto had “already absorbed the negatives and priced them in,” arguing the market was responding to headlines rather than broader macro deterioration.
The institutional flow data supports that read. CoinShares reported $619 million in crypto fund inflows for the week ending Friday, with $521 million going to bitcoin products and total AUM reaching $108.3 billion.
That capital came in during a week where the S&P lost $1 trillion in a single session and the economy shed 92,000 jobs. “Spot Bitcoin ETFs continue to attract capital even as price weakens, which suggests institutional allocators are treating this as a tactical entry rather than capitulation,” said Ryan Kirkley, co-founder and CEO of Global Settlement, in an email to CoinDesk.
Ethereum’s position above $2,000 is the one to watch this week. The second-largest cryptocurrency has been fighting to hold that level since late February, and FxPro analysts flagged $2,500 and the 200-week moving average as the zone that would confirm a genuine recovery rather than a series of dead cat bounces. The gap between $2,000 and $2,500 is where the narrative shifts from “surviving the drawdown” to “starting a new trend.”
For solana, the recovery has been structurally weaker. SOL remains down roughly 55% from its cycle highs and has underperformed ether on every major bounce since the October crash.
The memecoin economy that fueled solana’s 2024 rally has evaporated, and without that speculative engine the token is trading more on macro sentiment than ecosystem activity.
XRP has been the most range-bound of the majors, hovering between $1.30 and $1.45 for most of March. ETF inflows have been positive and the legal clarity from Ripple’s settlement should be a tailwind, but the token has failed to decouple from broader market direction.
The Fed meeting on March 17-18 looms as the next real test.
Global Settlement’s Kirkley noted that the 90-day correlation between bitcoin and the S&P 500 has climbed to 0.78, one of the highest readings since mid-2022. When bitcoin trades in lockstep with equities, altcoins amplify every move in both directions.
A hawkish dot plot or any hint that rate hikes are back on the table would hit the higher-beta end of crypto hardest.
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