Crypto World
Constellation Energy (CEG) Stock Surges 4% on Morgan Stanley’s Bullish Upgrade
Key Takeaways
- Morgan Stanley initiated Overweight coverage on Constellation Energy (CEG) with a $385 price target, suggesting approximately 30.6% potential upside from Tuesday’s $294.85 close.
- Shares jumped 4.2% to $307.04 on Wednesday, despite trading down 16.5% year-to-date and suffering a 10.6% decline since Iran conflict escalation.
- Analysts view the current valuation as an “attractive entry point,” estimating data center contracting opportunities alone contribute $70 per share in value.
- The company operates America’s largest nuclear generation fleet at approximately 22 gigawatts, with established power agreements serving Meta and Microsoft.
- Analysts anticipate Q1 earnings will climb 17% to $2.51 per share, while annual revenue projections show 17% growth to $29.88 billion.
Constellation Energy (CEG) shares finished Tuesday’s session at $294.85, then surged 4.2% to reach $307.04 during Wednesday trading.
Constellation Energy Corporation, CEG
Morgan Stanley launched coverage of Constellation Energy (CEG) on Wednesday with an Overweight recommendation and established a $385 price objective. This target suggests potential gains of roughly 30.6% above Tuesday’s closing level.
The bullish stance arrives during a challenging period for shareholders. Year-to-date performance shows CEG declining 16.5%, with a notable 10.6% selloff following the onset of Iran military tensions. Analyst David Arcaro and his team interpret this weakness as a buying opportunity.
“We estimate CEG is priced at a level that values the existing assets ($255/share on our math) with modest value for incremental growth and value upside opportunities,” the research note stated.
The $385 price objective from [[LINK_START_2]]Morgan Stanley[[LINK_END_2]] incorporates multiple value components: $70 per share attributed to data center contracts, $40 from anticipated power price appreciation, and $22 stemming from clean energy credit programs. These elements combine to create substantial upside for shares currently trading around $290.
Nuclear Portfolio Advantage
Constellation commands the nation’s most extensive nuclear generation portfolio, boasting approximately 22 gigawatts of installed capacity. Morgan Stanley emphasized several competitive advantages: continuous 24/7 carbon-free baseload generation, extended operational lifespans, readily available land with existing grid connections suitable for data center development, and opportunities for deploying small modular reactor technology on existing sites.
The AI-nuclear investment thesis surrounding CEG isn’t fresh territory. Shares soared 91% throughout 2024 and posted an additional 58% gain in 2025 before experiencing recent headwinds.
The company has already secured two significant long-duration power supply agreements. During 2024, Microsoft signed a 20-year arrangement to procure nuclear-generated electricity for its data center infrastructure. Following nine months later in June 2025, Meta finalized another 20-year commitment — securing more than 1,100 megawatts from Constellation’s Clinton Clean Energy Center located in Illinois.
Morgan Stanley analysts indicated they anticipate “further data center contracting opportunities this year.”
Upcoming Catalysts
Constellation plans to unveil its 2026 financial projections and strategic roadmap on March 31. Management withheld providing forward guidance during February’s Q4 earnings announcement, amplifying investor attention toward the forthcoming update.
Morgan Stanley identified the March 31 presentation as the “next catalyst for a potential contract announcement.”
Regarding earnings expectations, Wall Street consensus calls for first-quarter earnings per share to advance 17% to $2.51, accompanied by revenue growth of 30% reaching $8.84 billion. Full-year projections anticipate earnings of $11.69 per share alongside revenue of $29.88 billion — reflecting year-over-year expansion of 24.5% and 17%, respectively.
Broader analyst consensus compiled by InvestingPro indicates 38% potential appreciation, marginally exceeding Morgan Stanley’s 30.6% projection.
During the fourth quarter, Constellation delivered adjusted earnings of $2.30 per share, narrowly missing the $2.31 consensus estimate, while revenue of $6.07 billion substantially exceeded projections of $4.95 billion.
The company also recently finalized an agreement to divest approximately 4.4 gigawatts of natural gas generation facilities within the PJM territory to LS Power Equity Advisors for $5 billion — a mandatory sale stemming from its Calpine acquisition.
Crypto derivatives firm STS Digital said on Wednesday it had launched a structured products platform for digital assets, with Kraken as its first distribution partner.
STS Digital said the platform allows clients to access options-based strategies packaged into predefined payoff structures. Kraken has integrated the platform via an API and is using it to power its Dual Investment product, which offers eligible clients fixed returns on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
The launch reflects a broader trend of firms packaging derivatives into structured products that can offer yield or downside protection in crypto markets.
Jeremy Dominh, head of structured products at STS Digital, said the launch aims to expand institutional access to more complex digital asset investment strategies.
Kraken expands derivatives offering with structured products
Alexia Theodorou, Kraken’s director of derivatives, said the partnership expands the exchange’s derivatives offering to include structured strategies such as covered calls. She said the products offer an alternative way for clients to generate returns beyond staking or lending.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to offering flexible, innovative products that help clients engage with digital assets in more sophisticated ways,” she said.
On Feb. 26, STS Digital raised $30 million in a strategic funding round led by CMT Digital, with participation from Payward, the parent company of Kraken. The company said the funding would support expansion of its crypto options trading platform and institutional market access.
How structured crypto products work
DBS, which launched tokenized structured notes on Ethereum in 2025, defines structured products as financial instruments whose performance or value is linked to an underlying asset, product or index. In simple terms, they package derivatives into a single product offering predefined payouts based on how the underlying asset performs.
According to STS Digital, the platform offers structured investment strategies, including options-based products aimed at generating yield and managing exposure to digital assets.
Related: Ripple joins Singapore sandbox to test RLUSD in trade finance
STS said the platform operates under a Bermuda Monetary Authority license, placing it within a regulated framework for clients.
While the platform is regulated, structured products can be complex and may carry risks tied to volatility, liquidity and counterparty exposure, particularly in less mature markets such as crypto.
Companies expand crypto investment offerings for institutions
The launch comes as firms expand efforts to introduce more complex crypto investment products, including tokenized notes, yield structures and other derivatives-linked offerings.
On Tuesday, Omnes and Apex Group announced plans to tokenize the Omnes Mining Note (OMN), an institutional-grade structured note linked to Bitcoin hashrate. The note gives direct economic exposure to new Bitcoin production for institutional investors.
On the same day, Lombard, which builds Bitcoin-based lending infrastructure, announced that it will team up with Bitwise Asset Management to offer Bitcoin yield and lending to institutional custody.
Magazine: Banks want to run Vietnam’s crypto exchanges, Boyaa’s $70M BTC plan: Asia Express
TLDR:
- Bittensor has gained 140% in six weeks, with 105% of those gains recorded since March 8th alone
- Social dominance for $TAO hit 1.99%, marking a new one-year high and sitting 144% above its daily average
- Retail sentiment shows only 1.5 positive comments per negative one, suggesting no signs of a forming top yet
- Targon (SN4) trades at 3.6x revenue against a $10.5M ARR, well below the typical 8–15x SaaS industry benchmark
Bittensor ($TAO) has posted a price increase of 140% over six weeks, with 105% of those gains recorded since March 8th alone.
The token now sits at 26th by market capitalization. Analyst platforms Santiment and LunarCrush have each published separate findings on the rally.
Both reports point to rising social activity, though they approach the data from different angles.
Retail Sentiment Remains Cautious Despite Price Surge
Santiment flagged that social volume across X, Reddit, Telegram, and other platforms has reached its second-highest level on record for Bittensor.
The only period that exceeded it was the activity surrounding the token’s $529 price top on November 1st. That prior peak was driven largely by FOMO, making the current comparison worth noting.
Despite the strong price movement, the sentiment breakdown tells a more measured story. Santiment recorded only 1.5 positive comments for every 1.0 negative comment at this time.
That ratio is notably low for a token in the middle of a major rally, and it sets this surge apart from other altcoin pumps seen in recent cycles.
The absence of greedy optimism from retail traders is generally viewed as a healthy sign for a rally. When crowds pile in with excessive enthusiasm, it tends to mark a forming top. The current data does not show that pattern, which suggests the move may have room to continue.
Santiment also positioned Bittensor within the broader AI narrative driving capital rotation in the market. The token is described as a live marketplace for machine intelligence, where models compete and earn based on performance. This effectively turns AI output into a tradable commodity with measurable results.
The subnet architecture further sets Bittensor apart, according to Santiment’s framing. Hundreds of specialized AI markets operate independently across use cases like LLM training, compute, and prediction, yet remain economically tied to TAO. That structure creates real competition rather than a single centralized model driving all activity.
Engagement Data and Fundamentals Paint a Different Picture From November
LunarCrush approached the rally through social engagement metrics, reporting a 112% rise in $TAO engagements over the past 30 days.
In a single 24-hour window, the platform recorded 3.86 million engagements against a daily average of 1.56 million. That figure is approximately 2.5 times the baseline level of activity.
Social dominance for $TAO reached 1.99%, sitting 144% above its daily average and marking a new one-year high.
A total of 3,228 unique creators posted about the token within a 24-hour period, up 41% week-over-week. LunarCrush noted that price and engagement are rising together for the first time since the November 2025 local top.
However, LunarCrush drew a clear contrast between then and now. The current market cap stands at $2.9 billion, compared to $4.7 billion during the November peak.
Social volume is approaching that earlier level, but price has not caught up, which some read as a potential gap still to close.
Several catalysts appear behind the current wave of attention. Jensen Huang named Bittensor on the All-In Podcast alongside Chamath Palihapitiya.
Grayscale also opened a private placement for a $TAO trust, adding a layer of institutional interest to the conversation.
On the development side, Templar (SN3) completed Covenant-72B, a 72-billion-parameter model trained across 70 or more contributors with no central computing cluster.
Targon (SN4) is generating $10.5 million in annualized recurring revenue at a 3.6 times revenue multiple, compared to the 8 to 15 times multiple typical of traditional SaaS companies.
Zcash price extends a high-volume rally as fresh ZODL funding, rising shielded usage, and a renewed privacy narrative push ZEC higher against a constructive crypto market backdrop.
Summary
- ZEC trades near $239 with rising volumes and a multi-session rally that is outpacing the broader large-cap crypto market.
- A governance shake-up created ZODL, which raised about $25m to expand Zcash’s protocol work, wallet stack, and shielded usage.
- Growing demand for privacy coins and tighter regulation have pushed Zcash into a renewed “regulatory hedge” and financial confidentiality narrative.
Zcash (ZEC) price, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency, is trading near $239 with a 24-hour gain of about 3% and a weekly advance of over 10%, putting its market capitalization around $3.95 billion and daily trading volume at approximately $485.6 million. The move has extended a multi-session rally that saw ZEC close at $221-$243 range through early March, supported by daily spot volumes regularly between $279 million and $425 million, according to historical price data. This acceleration comes as global crypto market capitalization hovers near $2.45 trillion, suggesting Zcash is outperforming many large-cap peers in a generally constructive market.
Zcash price climbs on rising volumes and renewed privacy focus
Zcash is a layer-1 privacy coin that uses zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) to offer both transparent and shielded transactions, allowing users to choose between public and private transaction flows on the same network. In the shielded pool, sender, receiver, and amount data are encrypted while transactions remain verifiable, a design that aims to preserve fungibility by preventing coins from being “tainted” by prior history. That makes ZEC part of a small group of privacy assets, alongside names like Monero, competing for users and institutions seeking stronger financial confidentiality than fully transparent chains.
Although Zcash’s supply and on-chain activity are partially obscured by design, available market data paints a picture of renewed speculative engagement from larger traders. ZEC’s circulating supply is reported at around 16.6 million tokens, giving it a fully diluted valuation near $5.01 billion at current prices. Over recent sessions, daily trading volumes above $400 million imply meaningful participation from larger market participants, rather than purely retail-driven action. External pricing dashboards show ZEC trading in the $226-$245 band in late March with 24-hour dollar volumes in the $320-$430 million range and a market cap between roughly $3.7 billion and $4.1 billion, supporting the picture of a liquid, actively traded market.
Technical indicators align with this shift in positioning. One multi-metric dashboard places ZEC’s current price around $236 with a 14-day relative strength index near 53, signaling a neutral-to-bullish trend rather than an overbought spike, while also tracking high short-term volatility of around 7.3%. That combination of solid spot volume, rising price, and non-extreme momentum suggests the move has room to develop, but that traders should remain aware of sharp reversals typical for volatile privacy assets.
Beyond price, Zcash’s latest leg higher coincides with a notable organizational and funding shift in its core developer ecosystem. In early 2026, Zcash’s main engineering team exited the Electric Coin Company after a governance dispute with Bootstrap, the nonprofit that had overseen Zcash development, and re-formed as the Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL). ZODL subsequently raised about $25 million in seed funding led by major crypto venture firms, described as the largest funding round in the project’s history, with funds earmarked for hiring, protocol work, and expansion of its mobile wallet infrastructure. According to coverage of the deal, the Zodl wallet (formerly Zashi) has already driven a more than 400% increase in shielded pool adoption and processed over $600 million in ZEC swaps since October, underscoring practical demand for private transfers rather than purely speculative trading.
The move in ZEC also fits into a broader rotation back into privacy and regulatory-hedge narratives. Market commentary and data aggregators have highlighted growing interest in privacy coins like Zcash and Monero amid tighter European regulations and rising concerns about financial surveillance, with privacy names at times outperforming Bitcoin on a relative basis. That dynamic leaves Zcash positioned as a hybrid: its optional privacy model and ability to support both shielded and transparent flows gives it a different regulatory profile than fully private alternatives, even as it competes directly for the same users seeking stronger confidentiality.
Within this context, the latest price breakout in ZEC looks less like an isolated pump and more like the market repricing a funded, technically mature privacy chain as new capital and a refreshed development structure begin to translate into higher shielded usage and deeper liquidity.
Philip Rycroft, a former senior civil servant, recommended that the UK government impose a temporary moratorium on political donations made in crypto assets in an independent review published on Wednesday.
“The government should legislate in the Representation of the People Bill to introduce a moratorium on political donations made in cryptoassets,” Rycroft wrote in the report, which was commissioned by the government in December 2025.
The review said crypto assets could provide a route for foreign money to enter the UK political system because of incomplete regulation, the difficulty of tracing the “ultimate ownership” of some assets, and the possibility of breaking larger donations into smaller transfers. It noted that donations below 500 British pounds ($669) fall outside the normal permissibility test, while formal reporting thresholds for political parties are higher.
The review comes a week after a separate report by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy called on the government to impose an immediate moratorium on crypto donations to political parties until the Electoral Commission produces statutory guidance ahead of the next general election.
Rycroft leaves room for future crypto donations
Rycroft wrote that the scale of crypto political donations is currently unknown because none have yet reached the reporting threshold that would require disclosure to the Electoral Commission.
Still, the report argued that political crypto donations could be allowed under “tight supervision” by the Electoral Commission and through UK-regulated cryptocurrency exchanges.
Rycroft added that the temporary pause in the political crypto donations should not be seen as a “prelude to an outright and permanent ban,” but rather an “interlude” allowing the regulatory environment to catch up to the reality of crypto.
Related: UK Lords launch stablecoin inquiry as Bank of England moves to finalize rules
The recommendation comes amid wider scrutiny of crypto and foreign-linked money in British politics. Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, received a record $12 million political donation from crypto investor Christopher Harborne in the third quarter of 2025 and another $4 million donation in the fourth quarter of 2025. Reform UK was the first political party to start accepting crypto donations in May 2025.
UK lawmakers reportedly started considering a ban on political cryptocurrency donations in December 2025. They are currently legal in the country, subject to permissible rules under the Electoral Commission guidance.
In January, seven senior UK Labour Party MPs urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to ban crypto donations to political parties.
Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026
Google has set a 2029 deadline for its post-quantum cryptography (PQC) migration, warning that “quantum frontiers” could be closer than they appear.
On Wednesday, Google said rapid progress in quantum computing hardware and quantum error correction, along with updated estimates of how quickly a quantum machine could break today’s encryption standards, has heightened the urgency to act sooner rather than later.
“Quantum computers will pose a significant threat to current cryptographic standards, and specifically to encryption and digital signatures,” Google said, while also noting that PQC migration is needed for users to use authentication services securely.
This is the first time Google has set a timeline to roll out post-quantum capabilities across its products. The 2029 timeline is earlier than some industry estimates for Q-Day — the point at which quantum computers become powerful enough to break current public-key encryption.
“It’s our responsibility to lead by example and share an ambitious timeline. By doing this, we hope to provide the clarity and urgency needed to accelerate digital transitions not only for Google, but also across the industry.”
Google’s call for urgency comes as it continues to develop its quantum chip, Willow, which has a computing capacity of 105 qubits, making it one of the most powerful in the industry.
There are also rising concerns that quantum computers could severely disrupt the crypto industry by breaking the cryptographic algorithms used to secure digital assets. However, there is still debate over whether only crypto wallets with exposed public keys are vulnerable or whether all coins are at risk.
Crypto networks also eye post-quantum upgrades
The Ethereum Foundation launched a “Post-Quantum Ethereum” resource hub on Tuesday, focused on protecting the blockchain from future quantum computing threats and securing the billions of dollars in value on the network.
The post-quantum team plans to implement quantum-resistant solutions in Ethereum at the protocol level by 2029, with solutions targeting the execution layer to follow.
In January 2025, Solana developers created a quantum-resistant vault on the Solana blockchain to protect user funds from quantum threats by implementing a complex hash-based signature system that generates new keys each time a transaction is made.
Related: Google uncovers iOS exploit kit used in crypto phishing attacks
However, to access the feature, Solana users need to store their funds in Winternitz vaults rather than regular Solana wallets, as it isn’t a network-wide security upgrade.
Meanwhile, there has been increasing division in the Bitcoin ecosystem on what action developers should take, if any at all.
One of the Bitcoin ecosystem’s strongest voices, Blockstream CEO Adam Back, says quantum risks are widely overstated and that no action is needed for decades.
On the other hand, security researcher Ethan Heilman and others have proposed a new output type for Bitcoin, called Pay-to-Merkle-Root, through Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 360 (BIP-360), which seeks to protect Bitcoin addresses from potential short-exposure quantum attacks.
However, that implementation may take seven years, Heilman told Cointelegraph in February.
Magazine: Nobody knows if quantum secure cryptography will even work
Key takeaways:
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Over 90% of Bitcoin call options may expire worthless if the price fails to break above $71,000 by Friday.
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Traders fear rising inflation and worsening credit conditions as the US and Israel-Iran war continues.
Bitcoin (BTC) has been stuck in a narrow range between $67,700 and $71,600 over the past week, closely following how the US stock markets reacted to the US and Israel-Iran war. Traders have high hopes that the upcoming $18.6 billion Bitcoin monthly options expiry on Friday could provide the bullish momentum needed to break above the $75,000 level for good.
The Bitcoin call (buy) options dominate March’s total open interest, totaling $11.2 billion, while put (sell) instruments stood 34% lower at $7.4 billion. However, this advantage means little given that Bitcoin has failed to sustain levels above $74,000 for the past seven weeks. Investors fear that inflation will remain a concern as WTI oil prices sustained levels above $90.
Economic uncertainty helps bears dominate the quarterly Bitcoin options expiry
Initial signs of cracks in the US economy emerged after private credit funds limited redemptions amid concerns of deteriorating loan quality. The $3 trillion sector has been under scrutiny after asset managers Ares Management, Apollo Global Management, Blue Owl Capital, and Cliffwater were forced to halt or restrict withdrawals in recent weeks, according to CNBC.
The uncertainty in the socio-economic scenario might be precisely what bears needed for Bitcoin’s quarterly expiry. To better assess the forces driving Bitcoin’s price ahead of Friday’s event at 8:00 am UTC, analysts are looking at what prices the call and put options were placed.
Deribit holds a clear lead with a 76% market share with $14.1 billion in open interest, followed by OKX with 7.1% and CME at 6.6%. Despite the greater demand for call options, Bitcoin bulls at Deribit were overconfident, placing the majority of their bets on $90,000 and higher levels.
Only $2 billion of the call options at Deribit were placed below $78,000, meaning 77% of those instruments will likely become worthless on Friday. It’s clear that Bitcoin bulls did not anticipate a quarterly expiry at $71,000, a price that would invalidate 92% of the call options open interest.
Related: Bitcoin’s battle for $70K continues as data shows traders avoiding bullish positioning
Part of those positions might have been placed before February, when Bitcoin was trading above $86,000, which explains the heavy positions far above current price levels.
The put options open interest at $66,000 or higher stood at $2.2 billion at Deribit, meaning 40% of those instruments remain in play for Friday’s expiry. Therefore, at first sight, there is a slight advantage for the put options, but a more granular view is required to understand at what level the situation might change.
Below are four probable outcomes for Friday’s BTC options expiry at Deribit based on current price trends:
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Between $65,000 and $69,000: The net result favors the put (sell) instruments by $1.8 billion.
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Between $69,001 and $72,000: The net result favors the put (sell) instruments by $950 million.
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Between $72,001 and $75,000: The net result favors the put (sell) instruments by $430 million.
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Between $75,001 and $78,000: The net result favors the call (buy) instruments by $790 million.
Ultimately, Bitcoin bulls need a 6% rally from the present $70,900 level to shift the outcome of the March options expiry in their favor.
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.
Stellar’s XLM price jumps toward the top of its range as traders rotate into payment and remittance tokens amid rising volumes, stablecoin pilots, and CBDC tests.
Summary
- Stellar’s XLM price trades near $0.18 after rising about 7.5% in 24 hours and more than 6% over the past week, outpacing the broader crypto market.
- The token’s market cap stands around $5.92 billion with roughly $216 million in daily trading volume, underscoring renewed interest in payment-focused layer-1 networks.
- A broader rotation into real-world payment and remittance assets, alongside ongoing stablecoin and CBDC experiments on Stellar, appears to be reinforcing XLM’s latest breakout.
Stellar’s native token XLM (XLM) is trading at about $0.1792, up 1.22% over the last hour, 7.45% in the past 24 hours, and 6.06% over the past seven days, with a market capitalization of roughly $5.92 billion and 24-hour trading volume of about $215.79 million.
XLM price climbs on strong daily gains
The move has pushed XLM toward the upper end of its recent range, following several sessions where daily closes clustered between roughly $0.1569 and $0.1671 in late March, according to historical price data. This rally is taking place as the global crypto market cap sits near $2.45 trillion, up about 1.31% on the day, meaning Stellar is outperforming the market-wide benchmark and many similarly sized layer-1 assets.
Stellar is a layer-1 payments and remittance-focused blockchain designed to facilitate low-cost, near-instant cross-border transfers, with XLM serving as the native asset used for fees, liquidity, and bridging between currencies. The network was created to connect financial institutions, money transfer operators, and fintech platforms, enabling issuers to tokenize fiat or other assets and route them through Stellar’s consensus network. With a circulating supply reported above 50 billion XLM and a live price around the mid-$0.16 to $0.18 band, Stellar’s on-chain design positions it as a high-liquidity medium of exchange rather than a strictly scarce store-of-value asset.
In terms of broader context, XLM is part of a cohort of payment and settlement tokens that includes assets like XRP and other cross-border networks, segments that often see renewed interest when regulatory narratives or bank integration stories return to the foreground. Recent coverage of Stellar’s ecosystem has highlighted expanding smart contract functionality through Soroban, pilots related to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and partnerships with remittance players such as MoneyGram, all of which reinforce the token’s live usage beyond pure speculation.
While Stellar’s ledger does not expose a simple “whale” dashboard, its recent advance has come alongside elevated volumes and strong relative performance compared to peers. XLM’s daily trading volume around $215–216 million, against a sub-$6 billion market cap, implies a relatively high turnover ratio that often accompanies phases of accumulation by larger actors and active trading by short-term speculators. Historical data shows several recent days with price gains above 3–7% and modest pullbacks, creating a staircase pattern higher rather than a single blow-off spike.
At the sector level, interest in payment and remittance chains has been supported by ongoing debates around bank-grade stablecoins, ISO 20022 messaging integration, and real-world asset rails, where Stellar is frequently cited as one of the infrastructures used or tested for cross-border flows. This positions XLM within a broader pattern: as financial institutions and fintechs probe compliant, high-uptime networks to move fiat-linked assets, tokens like XLM benefit from narrative and usage tailwinds that can sustain rallies longer than purely meme-driven cycles.
Pi Network’s (PI) token stayed under $0.20 on Wednesday after several days of sideways trading, while the broader crypto market remained under pressure.
Summary
- PI stayed below $0.20 as weak market sentiment and fading momentum limited short-term recovery efforts.
- About 154.2 million PI tokens may enter circulation in 30 days, adding fresh supply pressure.
- Consensus 2026 exposure boosted visibility, but traders stayed focused on unlocks, momentum, and broader weakness.
PI has dropped about 37% from its recent peak near $0.29 to around $0.18, even as the project continued to post updates around its ecosystem and future events. The current setup shows that price pressure may continue in the coming weeks if supply rises faster than demand and market sentiment stays weak.
The wider crypto market has entered a cautious phase, and that has limited support for many altcoins. Bitcoin has fallen about 4% over the past seven days after failing to hold levels above $72,000, while Ether, Solana, and XRP have also moved in a narrow range.
That backdrop has affected Pi Coin as well. Tension between the United States and Iran has added another layer of uncertainty, and traders have remained careful even as reports pointed to possible diplomatic talks. In such conditions, risk assets often struggle to attract strong buying interest.
Another factor that may weigh on PI is the upcoming token release schedule. Around 154.2 million tokens are expected to enter circulation over the next 30 days, which equals about 5.1 million tokens per day.
A rise in circulating supply can pressure price when buyer demand does not grow at the same pace. Large unlock events have often triggered short-term volatility in other crypto projects, and PI may face the same risk if holders decide to sell part of the newly available supply.
In addition, PI posted a strong move in mid-March, but that rally lost pace quickly. Since then, the token has traded sideways and remained below the $0.20 mark, which shows that buyers have not fully regained control.
The pullback from $0.29 to about $0.18 also points to weaker short-term momentum. Mainnet-related optimism has not been enough to reverse that trend so far, and that may keep traders focused on downside risks instead of recovery.
Conference Exposure May Not Change Near-Term Price Action
Pi Network has also drawn attention after securing a sponsorship role at Consensus 2026 in Miami, which will run from May 5 to May 7. Supporters of the project viewed the development as a positive step, and one X user said the event includes a 20-minute main-stage session focused on PI and artificial intelligence.
Still, event visibility does not always lead to immediate price support. Last year, Pi Network also appeared as a Gold Sponsor at TOKEN2049 in Singapore, yet sponsorship activity alone did not remove market pressure. For now, traders appear more focused on supply, momentum, and market conditions than on conference exposure.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
FET price rebounds toward key resistance as AI token rotation, exchange outflows, and progress on the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance roadmap drive renewed demand for the ASI-linked token.
Summary
- Artificial Superintelligence Alliance’s FET price trades around $0.23–$0.25 after rising roughly 3–5% in the last 24 hours, reversing part of its recent weekly drawdown.
- The token’s market cap sits between about $520 million and $650 million, with 24-hour trading volumes ranging from $150 million to over $260 million, underscoring active speculative and directional interest in AI-linked assets.
- An evolving roadmap toward the ASI merger, new AI agent tools, and a dedicated ASI:Chain blockchain continues to frame FET as a core bet on decentralized artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance’s FET (FET) price is trading near $0.23–$0.25 on March 25, 2026, with live dashboards placing it around $0.2499 at the latest update and showing a 24-hour range between roughly $0.2251 and $0.2538. Over the past day, FET’s price has risen by approximately 3.8% on one major tracker, while another source records a 15.5% daily surge to about $0.238 in a recent session, highlighting a sharp short-term reversal from a 7-day drawdown of around 6–7%.
FET price rebounds as AI rotation returns
That move has come alongside 24-hour trading volumes between roughly $150 million and $262 million, with circulating supply estimates between about 2.26 billion and 2.6 billion FET, implying a market capitalization in the $520–$650 million range at current prices.
FET functions as the native token of the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance, a decentralized AI ecosystem formed around Fetch.ai that aims to support autonomous agents, AI services and a dedicated AI-focused blockchain. In this role, FET is used for transaction fees, staking, and coordination of AI workloads, placing it firmly in the AI token category rather than pure DeFi, L1, or RWA. The alliance’s roadmap and token economics have been reshaped by a merger plan to combine FET with SingularityNET’s AGIX and Ocean Protocol’s OCEAN into a single ASI token, with a total supply targeted at 2,630,547,141 units following upgrades.
Market structure data points to significant positioning changes around FET’s latest bounce. A recent update notes that FET’s 15.5% daily surge to about $0.238 coincided with a net outflow of 1.5 million tokens from centralized exchanges, pushing exchange reserves to a new low for the cycle and signaling reduced immediate sell-side liquidity. At the same time, that report highlights that spot whale activity between roughly $0.20 and $0.22 remained predominantly on the sell side, creating a band of resistance where larger holders have been taking profit into strength. This combination of outflows and whale selling suggests the rally is being driven by broader AI inflows and on-chain scarcity, but still faces overhead supply that could cap upside if demand fades.
FET’s price action is also unfolding against a wider backdrop of renewed interest in AI-linked tokens such as Bittensor’s TAO and Render, with sector dashboards flagging parallel gains across AI infrastructure and compute assets. The alliance’s own development cadence reinforces that narrative: recent milestones include the ASI:Create closed alpha, a platform for building and deploying AI agents, and the ASI:Chain DevNet beta, a blockDAG-based layer-1 tailored to high-concurrency AI workloads. Looking further ahead, the roadmap calls for an ASI:Chain TestNet in 2026 and a mainnet launch by late 2026 or early 2027, alongside an open beta for ASI:Create, which collectively aim to convert the AI token narrative into concrete developer and user traction.
The merger mechanics underpinning this push are also critical: documentation and external analyses confirm that FET will be rebranded to ASI, with AGIX and OCEAN migrating into the new asset via fixed conversion ratios, bringing the unified supply to 2.63 billion tokens and tying three previously separate AI ecosystems into one economic base. As that process advances, FET sits at the center of a structural consolidation in the AI token space, leaving its price increasingly sensitive to both sector-wide risk appetite and the execution of the ASI roadmap.
Circle, the issuer behind the USD Coin (USDC), drew scrutiny after reportedly freezing 16 wallets tied to a civil case in the United States. On-chain investigator ZachXBT characterized the move as inappropriate, arguing the wallets belonged to legitimate business operations and were not connected to the case in any apparent way.
The wallets, ZachXBT noted, were used by a mix of crypto exchanges, online casinos, and foreign exchange businesses. He added that an analyst armed with basic on-chain tools could have recognized the wallets as ordinary business addresses from among the vast number of transactions Circle processes each day.
In a separate social post, the investigator asserted that the case appears sealed and that Circle had “zero basis” to freeze fiat-pegged USDC wallets. He described the freeze as potentially the most incompetent he has observed in years of investigations, suggesting the action reflected a governance process outsource to a default judicial mechanism rather than a defined, auditable internal procedure.
Cointelegraph approached Circle for comment on these claims, but the company did not provide a response by publication time.
Centralized stablecoins like USDC—where the issuer maintains reserves and has the ability to intervene—have long been debated for their contrast with the permissionless ethos of many crypto assets. Critics point out that, unlike cash, centrally issued stablecoins can be frozen, a point echoed by several industry figures.
“This is your 10th reminder that centrally issued stablecoins are not actually yours; they can be frozen, unlike cash,”
Mert Mumtaz, founder of RPC node provider Helius, reacted to the freezes by underscoring the governance risk inherent in centralized stablecoins. He framed the episode as a reminder that control rests with the issuer, with potential implications for user rights and privacy.
Jean Rausis, co-founder of the Smardex decentralized trading platform, linked Circle’s action to broader regulatory designs under discussion in the GENIUS stablecoin framework. He suggested that provisions within GENIUS could enable a privately managed central bank digital currency (CBDC) pathway, highlighting ongoing debates about how much visibility, oversight, and control such tokens might concede to authorities.
The discussion extends to broader concerns about the relationship between regulated stablecoins and the future cryptocurrency regulatory landscape. Critics have warned that frameworks like GENIUS may inadvertently normalize a centralized, surveilled form of money under the guise of stability and compliance, potentially steering markets toward a CBDC-like model. In May 2025, commentator and former lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene also raised alarms that regulated stablecoins could act as a “CBDC Trojan Horse.”
Key takeaways
- Circle reportedly froze 16 USDC-related wallets tied to exchanges, gaming, and FX businesses, a move disputed by crypto researchers as misaligned with the civil case context.
- On-chain investigator ZachXBT contends the wallets were clearly business instruments, not entities implicated in the ongoing case, and questions the governance process used to authorize the freezes.
- Industry voices stress that centralized stablecoins can be frozen by issuers, underscoring tensions between censorship-resistance ideals and regulatory compliance.
- Discussion around GENIUS signals concern that centralized infrastructure could nudge regulated stablecoins toward privately managed CBDC-like models, fueling ongoing CBDC debates.
- Circle did not provide a public comment at the time of reporting, leaving questions about internal processes and future safeguards unresolved.
Rethinking stablecoins in a regulatory era
The episode situates Circle’s actions within a broader discourse about the balance between stability, governance, and user sovereignty. Proponents of decentralized finance have long argued that censorship resistance and non-custodial control are core benefits of crypto. The ability of a stablecoin issuer to freeze funds—whether due to legal pressures, compliance programs, or other governance mechanisms—poses a direct challenge to that ideal.
Industry executives frame this moment as a test of how future stablecoins will operate under increasing scrutiny. The GENIUS framework, which aims to shape stablecoin regulation in the United States, is cited by several stakeholders as a potential pathway for more tightly controlled, centrally managed assets. Critics warn that such measures could drift toward CBDC-like systems, with implications for transparency, user consent, and financial privacy.
For investors and users, the key question is where risk management ends and user autonomy begins. If stablecoins remain fully centralized, ownership and access could hinge on issuer discretion rather than user rights. By contrast, a move toward more decentralized, algorithmic, or opt-in governance mechanisms might preserve censorship resistance but come with different liquidity and compliance trade-offs. The current situation with USDC highlights the practical tensions between these design choices and the real-world friction points that users and institutions must navigate.
What to watch next
Observers will be looking for any clarifications from Circle regarding the freeze process, internal governance criteria, and the safeguards—if any—that govern such actions. Regulators may also seek greater transparency around how stablecoins are managed, when freezes can be invoked, and how affected users can contest actions. The broader market will likewise assess how this incident influences confidence in centralized stablecoins and whether it accelerates calls for more robust, auditable frameworks that align with the industry’s long-standing push for transparency and resilience.
As the dialogue around stablecoins and CBDCs evolves, readers should stay tuned for updates on Circle’s official stance, forthcoming regulatory guidance under GENIUS, and any shifts in industry practices designed to prevent ambiguous, arbitrary freezes in the future.
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