Crypto World
Citi wants to make bitcoin bankable as Wall Street builds native crypto infrastructure
Citigroup (C) plans to launch institutional bitcoin custody later this year, part of a broader push to integrate digital assets into the bank’s traditional financial infrastructure.
Nisha Surendran, who heads Citi’s digital asset custody product buildout, described the initiative in a speech at the World Strategy Forum on Thursday as an effort to “make bitcoin bankable.”
That begins with institutional-grade key management and wallet infrastructure. But, Surendran said, the ambition is broader: to bring bitcoin into the same custody, reporting and control frameworks that clients already use for traditional assets.
“We will be offering our clients a single service model across crypto, securities and money,” said Surendran, who announced these plans during the World Strategy 2026 forum. Bitcoin positions, she said, will flow into the same reporting channels and tax workflows as equities and bonds.
Clients will be able to instruct transactions via SWIFT, APIs or user interfaces, she added. “From a client perspective, all they should care about is that they instruct us. We handle all the clearing and settlement complexity, and then we report back.”
Client demand
One of the reasons Citi is moving towards bankable bitcoin is because of client demand.
Citi has surveyed its clients, Surendran said, adding that they “don’t want to handle wallets and keys and one-time addresses.” Instead, they want exposure to bitcoin within familiar banking systems. Citi also wants to enable its clients to cross-margin crypto and traditional assets, Surendran said.
She described a future account structure in which multiple asset types sit under a single master safekeeping or custody account, including U.S. Treasuries, foreign bonds, tokenized money market funds, and bitcoin.
“The fact that all of these assets are accessible within the same account structure makes it easier to use them for cross-margining,” she said, including the possibility of using crypto assets at traditional exchanges or broker-dealers, and vice versa. Citi intends to build infrastructure to support that, she said.
It’s not surprising that banking giants are pushing further into the digital asset space. Institutional investors have been seeking exposure to the sector from traditional financial institutions for several years. What began with BlackRock offering exchange-traded funds to help more investors gain exposure has now spread to numerous banks and financial institutions, which continue to integrate their legacy financial services into the digital assets sector.
For example, Morgan Stanley, which oversees roughly $8 trillion in assets, has recently filed for bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products and is exploring wallet technology across its wealth platform. It is also rolling out spot crypto trading on the E*TRADE platform and evaluating lending and yield opportunities tied to digital assets.
“We need to build this internally. We can’t just rent the technology,” the banking giant’s recently appointed head of digital assets, Amy Golenberg, said at the Strategy World event in a presentation prior to Surendran.
Building for a 24/7 market
Citi, which connects to more than 220 payment and settlement networks globally, has also begun with private permissioned blockchains before expanding to public networks as regulations became clearer and client demand increased. Something similar to what another banking giant, JPMorgan, has done with its JPM Coin.
One live use case is Citi Token Services for cash, a 24/7 blockchain-based network used to move money within Citi’s global system. “As we move into the world of 24/7 assets like bitcoin, we definitely need 24/7 U.S. dollars or 24/7 digital money,” she said, adding that Citi’s internal systems are being adapted for round-the-clock support.
The 24/7 market is also something institutional clients have been asking legacy financial institutions for. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) said last month that it plans to introduce an around-the-clock, blockchain-based trading venue for tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds later this year.
NYSE’s main competitor in the U.S., Nasdaq, revealed in December that it was planning to facilitate nearly round-the-clock trading for stocks and exchange-traded products (ETPs), in a bid to match the increasingly global nature of financial markets and investor beh
Few major commodities have displayed the kind of price volatility Palladium has since 2020. After a wild ride, boom and bust included, the price of the metal approaches a key area that will help determine its medium- and long-term outlook.
In the space of just a few years, the metal surged above $3,400 during a supply-driven panic, only to collapse back toward $1,000 as industrial fears, substitution dynamics and the electric vehicle transition narrative took hold.
The amplitude of that move rivals some of the most dramatic commodity cycles of the past two decades.
From Scarcity Panic to Structural Unwind
The 2020-2022 rally was fuelled by a perfect storm: tight supply, heavy reliance on Russian production, strong autocatalyst demand, and limited above-ground inventories.
When geopolitical tensions intensified, the scarcity premium exploded.
But blow-offs rarely stabilise gently.
Once peak fear subsided and EV adoption accelerated, the narrative flipped. Investors began pricing a future where internal combustion
engine demand gradually erodes and platinum substitution gains traction.
As that theme gathered momentum, palladium retraced violently.
By late 2023 and into 2024, the market looked washed out.
Volatility and Reset
The decline toward the $1,000-$1,100 zone coincided with extreme pessimism.
Sentiment shifted from “structural shortage” to “structural obsolescence” in less than 24 months. That kind of narrative swing is typically accompanied by positioning liquidation, and price action reflected it.
Technically, the metal moved back toward long-term support levels that had anchored prior cycles. Momentum indicators reset and volatility compressed. The excess was purged.
2025-2026: Reclaim Phase Underway?
Over the past year, price behaviour has changed meaningfully.
Palladium has reclaimed medium- and long-term moving averages on the weekly and monthly timeframes. Higher lows have begun to form. Momentum has improved without yet reaching euphoric territory.
This rally is not a parabolic breakout, but base construction.
The key zone to watch sits around $1,900-$2,000. A sustained move above that area would mark a structural shift in the longer-term chart and challenge the prevailing “terminal decline” narrative.
Until then, the metal remains in recovery mode, not full revival.
What Drives Palladium?
Unlike Gold, Palladium is not a monetary hedge. It is tied primarily to industrial demand, particularly autocatalysts used in internal combustion and hybrid vehicles.
That means the macro drivers are different:
● Global auto production trends
● China’s manufacturing cycle
● US consumer resilience
● Platinum substitution dynamics
● Russian supply concentration
● The US Dollar trend
If global manufacturing stabilises and hybrid vehicle demand remains robust, Palladium retains its demand base. If the US Dollar softens and industrial sentiment improves, the cyclical tailwind strengthens.
But the structural headwind from electrification remains. This dynamic is precisely what sustains volatility.
Technical Outlook: Compression Before Expansion?
From a chart perspective, Palladium no longer looks like a market in freefall. Instead, it appears to be shifting from liquidation mode into something more constructive.
On the monthly chart, price has managed to climb back above its 55-month moving average and is now pressing up against the 100-month average in the $1,600-$1,700 area.
That may sound technical, but in simple terms it means the metal is rebuilding above levels that had previously defined the long slide.
Momentum has also turned. The Relative Strength Index (RSI), which collapsed during the 2023 washout, has recovered steadily and is now moving back toward bullish territory.
Taken together, the longer-term picture looks less like structural decay and more like a market trying to form a durable base.
On the weekly chart, higher lows have begun to form since the $1,000 floor held. The trend strength indicators are expanding again, signalling that directional conviction is returning after a prolonged period of compression.
Price is now approaching a key resistance band between $1,900 and $2,000, a zone that previously acted as a distribution during the early stages of the collapse.
A sustained weekly break above that area would materially alter the medium-term outlook and likely trigger a reassessment of the “terminal decline” narrative.
After a big jump, Palladium has settled into a holding pattern around the $1,750-$1,800 area on the daily chart.
The move up has stopped in a fairly orderly way instead of getting too hot. Momentum indicators remain in the middle range, indicating that the market is retaining its gains rather than losing momentum.
For now, the $1,700 to $1,720 range serves as a near-term cushion. On the upside, a convincing break above $1,850 would signal that buyers are ready to press the recovery further.
Until one of those levels gives way, the metal looks more like it is coiling than collapsing.
In short, the technical picture aligns with the broader macro narrative: the worst of the decline appears to be behind us, but confirmation of a new structural leg higher requires a decisive break above the $1,900-$2,000 region.
Until then, Palladium remains a rebuilding story: volatile, sensitive to macro inputs, and poised at an inflection point rather than in a confirmed breakout.
In a market defined by extremes, Palladium may once again be preparing for a decisive move; the only question is whether conviction ultimately resolves higher or whether volatility reasserts itself before a true structural recovery takes hold.
Crypto investment firm Paradigm is seeking to raise $1.5 billion for a new fund that will invest in companies in AI, robotics and other frontier technologies, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Paradigm will continue to invest in crypto companies, according to sources familiar with the situation, but it will use its existing technical investment team to look at deals in frontier tech companies, they said.
San Francisco–based Paradigm has $12.7 billion in assets under management, according to the latest regulatory filings.
It launched its flagship $2.5 billion fund in November 2021, which was the largest crypto fund in history at the time. It publicly announced its third fund in 2024 — an $850 million venture fund focused on early-stage crypto projects.
According to the WSJ’s sources, the firm’s managers decided they didn’t want to be restricted in ways that could cause them to miss out on attractive deals.
There is also overlap between crypto and AI, such as agentic payments, or transactions made by autonomous AI agents, the person said.
Paradigm exploring AI as early as 2023
Paradigm acknowledged it had been “tinkering” with AI and its convergence with crypto as early as three years ago.
In 2023, Paradigm was seen removing Web3 and crypto-specific language from its website, prompting some speculators to suggest it was already pivoting from crypto to AI.
Matt Huang, the co-founder and managing partner of Paradigm, denied at the time that the website changes reflected a shift away from crypto, but acknowledged that the team had been exploring AI.
In a lengthier tweet weeks later, Huang said that while “we’ve never been more excited about crypto and continue to invest across all stages,” the “developments in AI are too interesting to ignore.”
“It seems trendy to frame crypto vs AI as a zero-sum competition. But we don’t buy it. Both are interesting and will have plenty of overlap. We’re excited to continue exploring,” he said.
Earlier this month, Paradigm and OpenAI released EVMbench, a new benchmark evaluating how different AI models can detect and patch security vulnerabilities found in smart contracts.
AI made up more than half of all VC funding in 2025
In 2025, venture capital investments in AI firms amounted to $258.7 billion, accounting for 61% of all VC investment and doubling its share from 2022, according to OECD.
VC funding for generative AI firms made up 14% of all AI venture capital investments, with firms in the United States attracting the largest share of VC funding.
AI Eye: IronClaw rivals OpenClaw, Olas launches bots for Polymarket
Dorsey said AI-driven efficiency demands smaller teams, triggering one of the largest layoffs in Block’s history.
Jack Dorsey announced that Block is reducing its workforce by nearly half, cutting more than 4,000 employees and bringing total headcount from over 10,000 to just under 6,000.
In a note shared publicly on X, Dorsey described the move as “one of the hardest decisions in the history” of the company and said all employees would be notified the same day whether they are being asked to leave, entering consultation, or staying.
Massive Layoffs at Block
He stated that affected employees will receive 20 weeks of salary plus one additional week per year of tenure, equity vested through the end of May, six months of health care coverage, their corporate devices, and $5,000 to support their transition.
Employees outside the United States will receive similar support. Details may vary according to local requirements. Dorsey said the decision was not driven by financial distress, while adding that the company’s business remains strong. Instead, he added,
“But something has changed. We’re already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company. and that’s accelerating rapidly.”
Dorsey said he considered gradually reducing staff over months or years, but chose to act immediately. He said that repeated rounds of layoffs would harm morale, focus, and trust among customers and shareholders. He acknowledged that some decisions may prove wrong and that flexibility has been built in to account for that while continuing to serve customers.
Dorsey Admits Over-Hiring
The layoff announcement drew mixed reactions across social media. Some users described the severance terms as generous, while others focused on concerns about artificial intelligence replacing human roles. One user, Will Slaughter, tweeted that the cuts were less about AI and more about management decisions, while taking a jibe at Block, which had more than tripled its headcount from 3,900 in December 2019 to 12,500 by December 2022.
He described the reduction as unwinding an “insane COVID overhiring binge” and attributed it to managerial incompetence rather than technological change. In response, Dorsey admitted to over-hiring during the pandemic.
Other users criticized the optics of citing AI in a layoff note written in lowercase. Some expressed concern that job cuts linked to AI could become a broader trend as the company’s stock price rose by 24% in post-market hours.
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TLDR:
- Minnesota HF3642 would make it illegal for anyone to place or operate a crypto ATM in the state.
- The bill repeals Sections 53B.70–53B.75, erasing all existing kiosk licensing and compliance rules.
- New customers currently get full fraud refunds within 72 hours — a protection the ban would eliminate.
- Minnesota could become one of the first U.S. states to outright ban virtual currency kiosks entirely.
Virtual currency kiosks in Minnesota face a complete ban under proposed legislation introduced in the 2025–2026 session.
House File 3642 targets all crypto ATM operations in the state. The bill would prohibit any person from placing or operating a virtual currency kiosk in Minnesota.
It also seeks to repeal existing statutes that currently govern kiosk licensing, disclosures, transaction limits, refunds, and compliance requirements. This move marks a dramatic policy shift for the state.
What the Bill Proposes
Minnesota HF3642 introduces a straightforward and sweeping prohibition. Under the proposed Section 53B.691, no person may place or operate a virtual currency kiosk anywhere in Minnesota. The language of the bill leaves no room for exceptions or conditional approvals.
The bill also adds a new subdivision to Section 53B.69 to define terms specifically for the prohibition. This addition provides the legal framework needed to enforce the new ban effectively. It connects existing definitions in state law to the incoming restriction.
Beyond the ban itself, the legislation proposes a full repealer of Sections 53B.70 through 53B.75. These sections currently regulate kiosk operators through licensing, consumer disclosures, and transaction limits.
Their removal would erase the entire regulatory structure that governs crypto ATMs in the state today.
What Current Law Requires of Kiosk Operators
Under existing Minnesota statutes, virtual currency kiosk operators must follow strict disclosure rules. Before any transaction, operators must display all material risks on the kiosk screen for the customer to acknowledge.
These include warnings about price volatility, irreversible transactions, and potential fraud schemes.
Current law also requires operators to display a bold warning about scams. The warning specifically addresses fraudsters impersonating loved ones or government officials. It advises consumers that losses from fraudulent transactions cannot be recovered.
Transaction limits are also part of the existing framework. New customers face a maximum daily transaction limit of $2,000.
Existing customers, defined as those who have transacted for more than 72 hours, are subject to limits set by individual operators in line with federal law.
Refund Rules and Consumer Protections at Stake
Minnesota’s current law offers a refund pathway for new customers who fall victim to fraud. Under Section 53B.75, operators must refund the full transaction amount if a new customer was fraudulently induced.
The customer must contact the operator and a government or law enforcement agency within 14 days.
This protection applies strictly within the 72-hour new customer window. After that period, a customer transitions to “existing customer” status under Section 53B.69. At that point, the full refund obligation no longer applies.
If HF3642 passes, all of these consumer protections would be repealed along with the ban. There would be no licensed operators left to hold accountable, and no regulatory structure to enforce compliance.
Consumers who previously relied on these protections would lose that safety net entirely.
Industry and Regulatory Outlook
The bill’s passage would make Minnesota one of the few states to outright ban crypto ATM operations. Most states have moved toward regulation rather than prohibition. The trend across the country has been to tighten oversight, not eliminate it entirely.
For operators currently licensed in Minnesota, the bill represents a direct threat to existing business models. Many operators have invested in compliance infrastructure to meet the state’s existing requirements. A full ban would render that investment worthless.
The bill is now in the legislative process and has not yet been signed into law. Stakeholders across the crypto industry are expected to monitor its progress closely.
Its outcome could influence how other states approach virtual currency kiosk legislation going forward.
SPI pegs JPYSC and targets Q2 2026 launch, with 1:1 JPY backing under Japan’s Type III framework for institutional cross-border and treasury payments.
Summary
- JPYSC is a trust bank‑backed yen stablecoin issued by SBI Shinsei Trust, distributed via SBI VC Trade and built by Startale for high‑volume institutional settlements.
- The token operates as a Type III electronic payment instrument, targeting cross‑border payments, treasury management, tokenized asset settlement, and future AI/agent payments.
- Launch is planned for Q2 2026 pending regulatory approval, with early interest from banks, financial firms, and large corporates seeking a regulated digital JPY alternative to USD stablecoins.
SBI Holdings and Startale Group announced the launch of JPYSC, a Japanese yen-denominated stablecoin designed for institutional finance and cross-border digital payments, according to an official press release.
The stablecoin will be issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and operated under Japan’s trust bank system, making it the first stablecoin in the country backed by a trust bank. The structure is governed by Japan’s digital asset regulatory framework, according to the announcement.
JPYSC will be used for cross-border payments, treasury management, and tokenized asset settlements. The digital currency aims to enable financial institutions to transfer funds between international markets while linking traditional finance systems to blockchain infrastructure, the companies stated.
SBI VC Trade will serve as the principal distribution partner, while Startale Group will lead blockchain technology development. The stablecoin has been built for enterprise-grade performance to accommodate high-volume transactions and institutional settlement requirements, according to the release.
The target users include banks, financial companies, and large corporations. Several financial institutions and corporations have expressed interest in the project ahead of its official launch, the companies reported.
JPYSC operates under Japan’s Type III electronic payment instrument framework, a classification designed to ensure compliance with the country’s financial laws. The framework provides regulatory clarity and legal protections for institutions using the stablecoin, according to the announcement.
The developers stated the system was designed for global interoperability, connecting blockchain networks and traditional banking systems to allow businesses to integrate digital payment systems into existing financial infrastructure.
The project features a blue logo intended to represent trust and stability, with branding that emphasizes security, transparency, and global connectivity, the companies said.
The official launch is planned for the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Authorities must complete their review process before market deployment, according to the announcement.
The partnership between SBI Holdings and Startale Group represents an effort to expand regulated digital finance infrastructure for blockchain-based financial products in Japan.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and gold are diverging in 2026, as persistent liquidity dynamics and shifts in risk appetite reshape how each asset behaves. Gold has surged roughly 153% since the start of 2024, while Bitcoin has retraced about 30% over the same period. Analysts attribute the split to a steady expansion of global money supply, a cooling appetite for high-beta tech equities, and a drift of capital from exchanges into self-custody. Taken together, these forces help explain why gold strengthens in a liquidity-driven environment while Bitcoin struggles to keep pace in a bear-market backdrop for risk assets.
Key takeaways
- Gold has outperformed Bitcoin since early 2024, rising about 153% versus a roughly 30% decline for BTC, signaling divergent responses to the same macro backdrop.
- Longer-term BTC trends have tracked money-supply growth (M2), but the strongest rallies historically occurred when liquidity growth aligned with surges in software and SaaS equities, highlighting the role of speculative appetite in crypto cycles.
- Tokenized exposure to hard assets is gaining traction: Binance launched 24/7 gold futures trading on January 5, with cumulative volumes approaching $35 billion and peak daily volume over $4 billion, underscoring demand for crypto-native hedges.
- Exchange liquidity has shifted lower as traders move assets into self-custody, with Binance’s combined BTC, ETH, XRP and major stablecoins portfolio value dipping to around $102 billion — the lowest since April 2025, reflecting a cautious operating environment.
- Historical patterns show that BTC’s price moves amplify or dampen with shifts in speculative sentiment, suggesting that today’s liquidity abundance coexists with a bear phase for risk assets, and a concurrent rise in gold demand as a hedge.
Tickers mentioned: $BTC, $ETH, $XRP
Sentiment: Bearish
Price impact: Negative. Bitcoin’s price trajectory has lagged gold’s gains amid a cautious, risk-off regime and thinning exchange liquidity.
Trading idea (Not Financial Advice): Hold. In a liquidity-driven regime where hard assets and tokenized hedges attract capital, patient positioning and prudent risk controls are advisable.
Market context: The 2026 environment features ample liquidity but mixed risk appetite, with money-supply growth supporting long-term upside while speculative fervor in tech equities drives volatile cycles. Tokenized gold activity on crypto venues reflects a broader search for hedges within digital assets, even as exchange balances shrink and self-custody gains traction.
Why it matters
The widening gap between gold and Bitcoin highlights a foundational question for crypto markets: where does investor value come from when macro liquidity remains supportive but risk sentiment downgrades exposure to high-beta assets? Gold’s performance, closely tied to money-supply expansion, reinforces gold’s status as a traditional hedge, even as investors explore novel ways to gain exposure to hard assets via crypto platforms.
For market participants, the move toward tokenized hedges signals a potential shift in cross-asset strategy. The crypto ecosystem is evolving from a pure beta bet on technology equities to a blended approach that seeks protection in assets with tangible, real-world demand. This may affect how liquidity pools behave in stress episodes and could influence choices around custody, settlement, and the role of exchanges in the overall ecosystem.
From a risk-management perspective, the decline in on-exchange reserves, coupled with continued demand for gold-linked products, suggests traders are recalibrating where and how they store value during periods of volatility. The dynamic also raises questions about regulatory intent and oversight as tokenized hedges gain traction, potentially shaping future liquidity provisions and market structure in crypto markets.
What to watch next
- Monitor January 2026 and subsequent data on gold futures trading on crypto venues, including cumulative volume and daily spikes, to assess whether tokenized gold remains a durable hedge amid ongoing volatility.
- Track Binance’s reserve metrics for BTC, ETH, XRP and other major assets to gauge shifts in exchange liquidity versus self-custody adoption, and what that implies for market depth.
- Follow updates to the broader money-supply indicators (M2) and related macro signals, as changes here are linked to long-horizon crypto trends and the relative performance of hard assets vs. digital assets.
- Watch commentary from macro strategists and market historians about the BTC–gold divergence, including any fresh empirical tests of liquidity-driven models and the role of speculative cycles in crypto markets.
- Observe any forthcoming data on tokenized asset products and exchange-venue innovations that could alter hedging strategies and liquidity channels within the crypto ecosystem.
Sources & verification
- Jurrien Timmer’s analysis on the relationship between gold, Bitcoin, and money-supply growth (as cited via his X post).
- CryptoQuant data on Binance gold futures volumes and the growth of tokenized gold trading activity.
- CryptoQuant data detailing Binance’s reserves for BTC, ETH, XRP and other major assets, including the trend to lower portfolio value.
- Historical references to the relationship between software/SaaS stock performance and BTC rallies in 2017–2018 and 2020–2021, contrasted with 2022 tech declines.
Liquidity, speculation, and the bitcoin-versus-gold dynamic in 2026
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and gold are presenting divergent profiles as 2026 unfolds. Gold has surged about 153% since the start of 2024, while BTC has slipped roughly 30% over the same period. Analysts attribute the split to a widening global money supply, a cooling appetite for high-growth tech equities, and a drift of capital from exchanges into self-custody. Taken together, these forces help explain why gold strengthens in a liquidity-driven environment while Bitcoin struggles to keep pace in a bear-market backdrop for risk assets.
In a post on X, Fidelity director of global macro Jurrien Timmer highlighted gold as a classic hard-money asset that has tracked money-supply expansion closely, with pullbacks that attract short-term buyers. He noted that Bitcoin’s behavior follows broader liquidity trends over time, yet the strongest rallies tend to align with periods when liquidity growth is paired with rising software and SaaS equities — proxies for speculative appetite. The historical record shows that during 2017–2018 and again in 2020–2021, software stocks climbed roughly 58% and 93% year over year, and Bitcoin benefited from those liquidity-driven surges. Conversely, 2022 saw a sharp decline in software valuations and a deep dip for BTC even with money-supply levels remaining elevated.
These patterns imply that money-supply growth undergirds Bitcoin’s long-term trend, while the direction and speed of price moves are amplified by the degree of speculative fervor in technology equities. Timmer argues that today, liquidity remains ample while investor sentiment toward risk assets has shifted into a bear phase, helping gold and base-money exposure rally while BTC lags.
To illustrate the dynamic with on-chain behavior, data from CryptoQuant shows that Binance’s total portfolio value across BTC, ETH, XRP, and major ERC20 and TRC20 stablecoins has declined to roughly $102 billion — the lowest since April 2025, down from about $140 billion in August 2025. The drop, about $38 billion, is attributed to a combination of lower asset prices and user withdrawals into self-custody during periods of bearish volatility. The effect on liquidity is nuanced: fewer assets sit on exchanges at a moment when traders typically rely on vaults and cold storage to insulate positions. The practical takeaway is that near-term liquidity on centralized venues appears to be thinning, potentially widening bid-ask spreads and complicating quick entry or exit for large players.
Meanwhile, a notable shift in demand within crypto-native venues has materialized around tokenized gold. On January 5, Binance launched 24/7 gold futures trading, a move that CryptoQuant data shows has already amassed a cumulative volume near $35 billion, with more than $4 billion traded on the most active day. Weekly volumes hover around $4.7 billion, underscoring a growing interest in instrumenting traditional hedges inside crypto markets. The development follows a two-day gold correction that rallied the demand for tokenized exposure to hard assets. As the ecosystem experiments with cross-asset hedges, investors are watching whether tokenized gold can serve as a liquidity bridge in periods of market stress.
The net takeaway from these shifts is a portrait of an asset-class tug-of-war: Bitcoin retains exposure to the expansion and contraction of the money spigot, but its price action is increasingly contingent on the risk-on or risk-off temperament of the broader market. With speculative sentiment still meandering in the bear camp, gold’s safe-haven appeal, and the allure of hard-asset exposure within crypto venues, are likely to remain central themes for 2026.
BTC integration plans lift Citigroup’s 2026 crypto custody launch, driven by institutional demand and ETF flows.
Summary
- Citigroup, with about $2.5t in assets, is building BTC infrastructure to link the coin into its existing $30t traditional asset framework for institutional clients.
- BTC services, including custody, key management, reporting, collateral and portfolio integration, are slated to roll out in 2026 after 2–3 years of internal development and testing.
- Citi’s move answers growing institutional BTC demand, especially from ETF participants, and aligns with peers exploring stablecoin rails, tokenized deposits and 24/7 blockchain settlement.
Citigroup Inc., a banking institution with approximately $2.5 trillion in assets, has announced plans to develop infrastructure for integrating Bitcoin (BTC) into traditional financial systems, according to reports.
The bank intends to complete construction of the new infrastructure by the end of 2024, with Bitcoin services for institutional clients scheduled to launch in 2026, the company stated.
According to Bitcoin Magazine, Citigroup is developing systems designed to enable Bitcoin usage within traditional financial networks. The infrastructure aims to connect banking systems with Bitcoin operations and facilitate the cryptocurrency’s use in banking transactions.
The initiative represents an expansion of cryptocurrency services among major financial institutions as digital assets continue to gain traction in institutional markets.
Citigroup has not disclosed additional details regarding the scope of services or specific features of the planned infrastructure.
TLDR
- South Korea’s National Tax Service exposed a crypto wallet seed phrase in an official press release.
- Unknown actors used the leaked mnemonic to transfer 4 million PRTG tokens worth about $4.8 million.
- Blockchain data showed three inbound transfers followed by a single outbound transfer of the full balance.
- Professor Jaewoo Cho confirmed the theft and said the tokens were difficult to cash out.
- In a separate case, police found that 22 Bitcoin seized in 2021 had disappeared from a cold wallet.
South Korea’s National Tax Service exposed a crypto wallet seed phrase in an official press release and lost $4.8 million in seized tokens. The disclosure allowed unknown actors to access 4 million PRTG tokens and transfer the full balance. Authorities confirmed the incident after blockchain researchers traced the movements onchain.
South Korea National Tax Service Leak Exposes 4 Million PRTG tokens
South Korea’s National Tax Service published a press release about enforcement actions against tax delinquents, and it included an unmasked wallet mnemonic. The release showed an image of a Ledger cold wallet and a sheet displaying the full seed phrase. Local media outlets, including Naver and Chosun, reported that officials failed to blur the sensitive information.
Soon after publication, blockchain analysts linked the exposed phrase to an Ether address holding 4 million PRTG tokens. Onchain records show three inbound transfers totaling 4 million PRTG into the address. The data then shows one outbound transfer sending exactly 4 million PRTG to another wallet.
Associate professor Jaewoo Cho of Hansung University’s Blockchain Research Center reviewed the flows and confirmed the loss. He wrote on X, “We have confirmed that 4 million PRTG tokens, worth approximately $4.8 million, were stolen from the mnemonic that was leaked.” He also stated that “fortunately, the other exposed mnemonics do not seem likely to cause any major issues.”
Cho added that the stolen tokens were difficult to cash out, and he said “the actual damage is at a negligible level.” However, he confirmed that unknown parties controlled the wallet after the disclosure. The National Tax Service has not publicly detailed recovery efforts.
Bitcoin Custody Case in South Korea Deepens Scrutiny
In a separate case, South Korean police discovered that 22 Bitcoin seized in a 2021 hacking probe had disappeared. Investigators found the loss in February 2026 after reviewing cold wallet holdings stored in a Gangnam police vault. The missing Bitcoin had a market value of about $65,567 per coin at the time of reporting.
Authorities arrested two suspects on Thursday after tracing the wallet movements. Investigators determined that the coins were moved using a mnemonic phrase that police had never controlled. Officials confirmed that internal procedures failed to secure exclusive access to the seed phrase.
The incidents follow scrutiny over custody practices within public agencies. Regulators also continue a probe into Bithumb after a 620,000 BTC fat finger promotion error. The exchange briefly credited users with about $43 billion in non-existent Bitcoin before correcting the balances.
The Financial Services Commission extended its investigation after criticism over system oversight. Officials have not released final findings on the Bithumb case. Police continue to investigate the missing 22 Bitcoin and the circumstances surrounding the wallet control.
TLDR:
- The HFIA Act was enacted on December 18, 2025, mandating SEC action within 90 days of enactment.
- FPI directors and officers must file Section 16 reports electronically and in English by March 18, 2026.
- The SEC removed the blanket Section 16 exemption, replacing it with narrower short-swing and short-selling carve-outs.
- Ten percent beneficial owners of FPI equity securities are excluded from the new Section 16(a) reporting rules.
The HFIA Act has prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt final rule and form amendments under Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
These changes require directors and officers of foreign private issuers to disclose their holdings and transactions in equity securities.
The rules take effect on March 18, 2026. This move follows the enactment of the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act on December 18, 2025, bringing greater transparency to FPI insider activity.
SEC Revises Section 16 Rules for Foreign Private Issuers
The HFIA Act amended Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act to expand reporting requirements. Directors and officers of FPIs with equity securities registered under Section 12 are now subject to these rules.
However, the law excludes “10 percent holders” who beneficially own more than 10 percent of any class of FPI equity securities.
Under the revised rules, covered insiders must file Section 16 reports electronically and in English. This requirement marks a clear shift from prior exemptions that FPI insiders previously enjoyed.
As a result, the reporting process becomes more standardized and accessible to U.S. investors.
The SEC amended Rule 3a12-3(b) to remove the existing blanket exemption from Section 16 entirely. In its place, the rule now provides narrower exemptions. These cover only the Section 16(b) short-swing profit rules and the Section 16(c) short selling prohibition.
Additionally, Rule 16a-2 was updated to formally exclude 10 percent holders of FPI equity securities from Section 16(a) requirements.
This exclusion ensures that minority beneficial owners are not swept into the new reporting framework. The change also aligns the rule text with the statutory language of the HFIA Act itself.
Reporting Deadlines and Compliance Timeline Under the HFIA Act
The HFIA Act set a firm deadline for the SEC to act. The Commission was required to issue final regulations no later than 90 days after the December 18, 2025 enactment date. The SEC met that mandate by adopting these amendments ahead of the March 18, 2026 effective date.
Directors and officers of qualifying FPIs must begin filing Section 16 reports starting March 18, 2026. This date serves as both the statutory effective date and the compliance start point.
Covered insiders should therefore prepare their disclosure systems well before that deadline.
The rule changes also revise the relevant Section 16 report forms to reflect the new requirements. These form updates ensure that the reporting structure matches the amended statutory framework. Moreover, they provide clarity on what information FPI insiders must include in each filing.
The SEC’s action brings FPI insiders closer in line with domestic reporting standards. This regulatory alignment gives investors better visibility into the trading activity of foreign company insiders. It also strengthens the overall integrity of U.S. equity markets.
VET, HBAR, DOGE trade below $0.1 with neutral RSI as tax refund season sparks speculative March flows as cryptocurrencies continue to plummet.
Summary
- VET trades below $0.1 with RSI in neutral territory and key support around $0.0070–$0.0072 and resistance near $0.0082–$0.0089 as key cryptocurrencies face broader market decline.
- HBAR consolidates just under $0.1, with support around $0.08–$0.09 and resistance near $0.11; FedEx’s Hedera Council membership strengthens the project’s real‑world tokenization narrative.
- DOGE trades around $0.09–$0.10, with targets at $0.11–$0.16 into March 2026 as neutral RSI and healthy spot volume leave room for upside if BTC and ETH stabilize and U.S. tax refunds fuel risk appetite.
As Bitcoin (BTC) faces resistance and major cryptocurrencies trade within established ranges, several low-priced digital assets are drawing attention from traders seeking potential gains in March, according to market analysis.
The cryptocurrency market is experiencing volatility following a difficult 2026, with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s tax refund season potentially creating buying pressure for lower-priced tokens, market observers noted.
VeChain (VET), despite underperforming in 2026, has been implementing a network upgrade since late 2025. The blockchain project faces a March 15 deadline for legacy node migration, which stems from the StarGate upgrade to its staking system. The asset’s relative strength index indicates neither overbought nor oversold conditions, according to technical analysis. Market participants are monitoring support and resistance levels around the migration deadline.
Hedera (HBAR) has reduced its year-to-date losses following a decline in early February and is currently trading near key price levels. The platform has positioned itself in real-world asset tokenization and recently announced that FedEx joined the Hedera Council. Technical analysts identified current price levels as critical thresholds, with movement below support potentially signaling further declines, while a break above resistance could indicate upward momentum.
Dogecoin (DOGE), the largest meme coin by market capitalization, has experienced significant volatility in 2026 alongside broader market trends. The approaching tax refund season could generate buying activity as some investors receive additional funds, market watchers suggested. Analysts noted that Dogecoin’s performance in March may depend on the price action of larger cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum, with stability in those assets potentially supporting interest in more volatile tokens.
All three cryptocurrencies are currently trading below $0.10, according to market data.
Will It Shock Gold & Silver?
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