Crypto World
How a 2.85% Price Error Triggered $27M in Liquidations on Aave
Key takeaways
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A temporary 2.85% pricing discrepancy in wstETH collateral triggered about $27 million in liquidations on Aave, showing how even small technical issues can have major financial consequences in automated DeFi lending systems.
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The liquidation wave occurred because Aave’s system briefly valued wstETH at about 1.19 ETH instead of its market value near 1.23 ETH, making some borrowing positions appear undercollateralized.
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Price oracles are critical infrastructure in DeFi because they feed external market data to smart contracts, determining collateral values, loan health and when automated liquidations should occur.
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The root cause was not a faulty price feed but a misconfiguration in Aave’s CAPO risk oracle system, where outdated smart contract parameters created a temporary cap on the token’s exchange rate.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols use automated logic to handle everything from collateral management to risk assessment. While this setup enables a truly open and permissionless financial system, it also means that minor technical issues can snowball into significant financial disruptions.
According to risk monitoring firm Chaos Labs, a market downturn on March 10, 2026, triggered approximately $27 million in liquidations for Aave borrowers, clearly illustrating this vulnerability. In a single 24-hour window, approximately $27 million in user positions were liquidated. Surprisingly, this was not caused by a massive market sell-off but by a brief 2.85% price discrepancy affecting wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) collateral.
This event serves as a stark reminder of how critical price oracles and robust risk management frameworks are to the stability of the DeFi ecosystem.
The article explains how a 2.85% pricing discrepancy in wstETH collateral triggered about $27 million in liquidations on the Aave lending protocol. It highlights how oracle configurations, smart contract parameters and automated liquidation mechanisms can amplify small pricing errors in DeFi markets.
A sudden surge in liquidations
When a wave of liquidations occurred across Aave markets, Chaos Labs, which tracks lending protocols for unusual activity, quickly identified and flagged the surge. Early speculation among observers pointed to a possible malfunction in the price oracles, which may have mispriced collateral assets on the platform.
Price oracles serve as critical bridges, supplying external market prices to onchain applications. In lending protocols like Aave, these feeds determine whether a borrower’s collateral still sufficiently covers their loan. When the collateral value falls below the required threshold, the system triggers the automatic liquidation of the position.
The asset at the center of this event was wstETH, a token commonly used as collateral across DeFi lending ecosystems.
Did you know? Liquidations on lending protocols like Aave often happen faster than traditional margin calls. Because DeFi markets operate 24/7 through automated smart contracts, positions can be liquidated within seconds once collateral ratios fall below the required thresholds.
What is wstETH?
wstETH, or wrapped staked Ether (ETH), is a token issued through the Lido protocol, a leading liquid staking protocol.
When users stake Ether via Lido, they initially receive stETH, which represents their staked ETH plus accrued staking rewards. To improve compatibility with various DeFi applications, stETH can be wrapped into wstETH.
Due to the ongoing accumulation of staking rewards, one wstETH generally holds a value slightly above one ETH. This makes it a particularly attractive and widely adopted form of collateral in DeFi lending markets.
The pricing discrepancy
During the liquidation wave, a mismatch appeared between wstETH’s actual market value and the valuation applied by Aave’s risk system. Aave’s algorithm priced wstETH at approximately 1.19 ETH, whereas the broader market valued it closer to 1.23 ETH.
This roughly 2.85% difference caused positions collateralized by wstETH to appear more undercollateralized than they actually were.
As a result, certain borrowing positions fell below their required safety thresholds, triggering Aave’s automated liquidation process.
Why price oracles are critical in DeFi
Price oracles are essential infrastructure in DeFi. Blockchains cannot natively fetch real-world market data, so oracle services supply external price feeds for assets. These feeds directly influence:
A reported drop in collateral price can lead the protocol to deem a loan insufficiently backed, prompting the automatic liquidation of the position.
Because this mechanism operates algorithmically, even minor pricing deviations can cascade into substantial consequences.
Did you know? A small price discrepancy can have outsized effects in DeFi. Even a brief deviation in an oracle or market price of just a few percent can trigger cascading liquidations. This is especially true when many borrowers use highly leveraged positions backed by volatile crypto collateral.
The real cause: CAPO risk-oracle misconfiguration
Deeper analysis confirmed that Aave’s primary price oracle was operating normally.
The root issue instead lay in the correlated assets price oracle (CAPO) risk oracle module, an additional protective layer applied to select assets.
CAPO is specifically designed to cap the rate at which the value of yield-bearing tokens like wstETH can rise. This safeguard helps protect the protocol against abrupt price surges or potential oracle exploits.
In this case, however, a configuration inconsistency within CAPO triggered the problem.
Technical breakdown of the error
Chaos Labs disclosed that the fault originated from outdated parameters stored in a smart contract.
Two key values had fallen out of alignment:
Because these were not refreshed in tandem, CAPO computed a temporary ceiling on the allowable exchange rate that sat below the prevailing market value.
This caused the protocol to undervalue wstETH by approximately 2.85% relative to its prevailing market price.
Did you know? Aave relies on price oracles, which are data feeds that supply real time asset prices to smart contracts. If these feeds briefly reflect unusual market prices from exchanges, the protocol automatically recalculates collateral values and may trigger liquidations.
The liquidation cascade
As soon as collateral ratios fell below the required thresholds, Aave’s automated liquidation engine activated.
Liquidators, typically high-speed trading bots, stepped in by repaying a portion of the borrower’s debt and, in return, acquiring the underlying collateral at a built-in discount.
Across the event, roughly $27 million in borrowing positions were liquidated.
Liquidators ultimately extracted around 499 ETH in combined profits and liquidation bonuses, capitalizing on the short-lived pricing misalignment.
No bad debt incurred by the protocol
Even with the volume of liquidations, Aave remained at zero bad debt. Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated that there “was no impact to the Aave Protocol.”
Chaos Labs said the platform’s core risk and liquidation mechanisms functioned as designed once positions breached their thresholds. Once positions breached their safety thresholds, liquidations proceeded according to design.
The disruption therefore remained confined to affected individual borrowers and did not threaten the protocol’s overall solvency or stability. The resulting artificial depression in collateral value pushed several borrowing positions below their liquidation thresholds.
Aave governance proposed compensating affected users through refunds funded by recoveries and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) treasury support. This approach aligns with a shifting pattern in DeFi governance, where protocols increasingly view technical incidents as systemic infrastructure risks. They may move to compensate impacted users rather than leave them to bear permanent losses.
A reminder of oracle risk in DeFi
The event underscores that oracle design remains one of the most vital and vulnerable elements of DeFi infrastructure.
Even minor configuration mistakes can trigger outsized consequences when automated mechanisms oversee billions of dollars in collateral value.
Comparable episodes have occurred on other DeFi platforms. For example, a misconfigured oracle once temporarily valued Coinbase’s wrapped staked ETH (cbETH) at around $1 instead of approximately $2,200, sparking widespread disruption.
Such cases highlight the ongoing challenges of maintaining reliable, accurate price feeds in decentralized financial systems.
wstETH and Lido were not responsible
Contributors from the Lido ecosystem made it clear that the liquidations did not stem from any malfunction or flaw in wstETH itself.
The token operated normally throughout the event, and the underlying Lido staking protocol remained fully functional and unaffected.
The primary issue appears to have stemmed from how the Aave lending protocol processed and interpreted price data through its own risk management configuration.
Lessons for the future of DeFi
As decentralized finance continues to scale, protocols are incorporating increasingly sophisticated risk management systems to accommodate yield-bearing assets such as wstETH.
These assets present unique pricing challenges because their value increases steadily over time through accumulating staking rewards.
Effective risk models must therefore properly handle:
Even minor misalignments in these elements can escalate into widespread liquidation events.
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has put forward a proposal which, according to SEC commissioner Hester Peirce, could help clear up years of confusion around how a key broker-dealer rule applies across markets.
Summary
- SEC has proposed limiting Rule 15c2-11 to equity securities, reversing its broader 2021 interpretation that raised questions for crypto assets.
- A 60-day public comment period has been opened as regulators seek feedback on how the rule should apply and whether crypto falls outside its scope
On Monday, the SEC proposed an amendment to Rule 15c2-11 that would limit reporting requirements for broker-dealers in the over-the-counter market to equity securities only, effectively reversing the broader interpretation introduced in 2021.
The SEC Rule 15c2-11 was first introduced in 1971 to ensure broker-dealers maintain up-to-date issuer information before they can publish over-the-counter quotes.
By placing obligations for firms to review and maintain current information about an issuer, the rule was designed to reduce risks in thinly traded markets, particularly in penny stocks.
Without this information, a broker-dealer is not allowed to initiate or resume quotations for a security in OTC markets.
However, the rule was reinterpreted in 2021 to extend beyond equities into other asset classes, and as a result, there have been questions around whether it can apply to crypto assets if they are classified as securities.
The SEC’s proposal would limit the rule’s scope to equity securities.
As such, broker-dealers won’t be required to apply these reporting requirements to crypto assets, even in cases where questions around their classification as securities remain unresolved.
This could make it easier for broker-dealers to support crypto trading and quote digital assets without having to rely on disclosure standards that do not align with how these assets function.
A public comment period has been opened where the commission is seeking feedback on whether the definition of equity securities should extend to crypto assets and how the rule should apply going forward.
According to Commissioner Peirce, who also leads the agency’s crypto task force, the proposal could help address confusion created by the earlier interpretation.
“By its terms, the text of Rule 15c2-11 always has applied to quotations of a ‘security.’ Market participants and other observers including me, however, understood the rule to apply only to quotations of over-the-counter (‘OTC’) equity securities,”
However, it must be noted that there is still no final decision on whether “equity securities” could include crypto assets.
Peirce said she would closely watch “questions about the definition of ‘equity security,’ the rule’s application to crypto assets, and the appropriate next steps with respect to the formation of an ‘expert market.’”
Argentina has ordered a nationwide block of prediction market platform Polymarket, tightening its stance on what authorities describe as unlicensed online betting activity.
Summary
- Argentina has ordered a nationwide block of Polymarket, citing illegal gambling concerns and risks tied to crypto payments and lack of identity checks.
- Regulators have directed ENACOM to enforce the ban and asked Google and Apple to remove the app following complaints from local gaming bodies.
According to local media, a Buenos Aires court has directed regulators to move forward with enforcement after concluding that the platform operated outside the country’s legal gambling framework.
Authorities highlighted consumer protection risks among others, including the use of crypto payments, credit card deposits, and the absence of robust age or identity verification checks that could allow minors to participate.
There are also broader regulatory concerns behind this decision, tied to how prediction markets blur the line between financial speculation and gambling.
Authorities raised concerns about Polymarket’s handling of Argentina’s February inflation rate of 2.9% before the official release. Reports say the platform reportedly reversed its prediction just 15 minutes before the data was published, which authorities found suspicious.
The authorities concluded that the platform functioned as an online betting system rather than a neutral prediction market.
Subsequently, authorities asked the telecom regulator ENACOM to coordinate with internet service providers to enforce the block. Meanwhile, Google and Apple have been ordered to remove the platform’s apps, limiting access for local users.
The latest order also follows multiple complaints from entities such as the Buenos Aires City Lottery and the Argentine Chamber of Casinos and Bingos, which pushed for action against the platform.
Argentina now joins a long list of countries, notably across Europe and Latin America, that have taken action against the platform.
Last year, Colombia and Romania banned the platform, classifying it as unauthorized gambling activity within their jurisdictions.
Similar concerns have been raised across several states in the U.S., where regulators are examining whether event-based contracts offered by platforms like Polymarket fall under existing gambling or derivatives laws.
Separately, Polymarket is also facing scrutiny over its handling of markets tied to sensitive events, including contracts linked to death and violent outcomes, which have drawn criticism from lawmakers and prompted fresh legislative efforts.
XRP just reclaimed a ranking it hasn’t held in weeks, and the derivatives market suggests traders are positioning for more.
The token surged to $1.53 on Tuesday, up 11% on the week, overtaking BNB to become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap at $93.4 billion. The move broke through $1.40 resistance, per CoinDesk analytics, with trading volume exploding 125% to $3.22 billion.
Coinglass data shows XRP open interest on Binance has climbed to 353.49 million XRP as of March 17, up from 222.79 million on Oct. 24, 2025, when XRP was trading at $2.39. That’s a 59% increase in open interest while the price is 37% lower. New leveraged positions are building into the recovery rather than unwinding, which is a fundamentally different setup from the deleveraging that dominated January and February.
The Binance OI chart shows the full arc. Open interest peaked above 400 million XRP in September 2025, collapsed during the October crash that took the price from $3.65 to below $2, and spent the next four months slowly rebuilding.
The current 353 million is approaching but hasn’t yet matched those pre-crash levels, which means the market has room to add leverage before hitting the concentration that preceded the last wipeout.
Traders will likely now monitor whether the $1.50-$1.60 zone holds or becomes another failed breakout in a token that has been full of them since October. Open interest building into the move gives it more structural support than previous attempts, but XRP approaching pre-crash leverage levels at 58% below the pre-crash price is a setup that works until it doesn’t.
US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded their sixth day of inflows on Monday as Bitcoin rose over 12% over the period, marking the longest streak of fresh capital into the ETFs since October last year.
Data from Farside Investors shows Bitcoin ETFs raked in $199.4 million of net inflows on Monday. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund led with $139.4 million and $64.5 million in inflows, respectively.
The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and Franklin Bitcoin ETF tallied inflows of $2.8 million and $2.1 million, while the VanEck Bitcoin ETF and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF saw outflows of $6.3 million and $3.1 million, respectively.
This brings the total net inflows since March 9 to $962.8 million, coinciding with Bitcoin (BTC) rising 12.5% from $65,960 to $74,250 over the period.
The inflow streak follows a much larger nine-day run between September and October 2025, which saw Bitcoin products tally nearly $6 billion worth of inflows.
Bitcoin was significantly higher at the time, hitting an all-time high of $126,080 during that stretch.
The recent rise in Bitcoin ETF inflows and the cryptocurrency’s spot price comes amid ongoing uncertainty between the US and Iran and volatility in the oil markets.
Rumors of progress have helped Bitcoin
However, blockchain analytics platform Santiment said rumors swirling about progress being made by the US, Iran and Israel have been a contributing factor to Bitcoin soaring above the $74,400 mark for the first time in six weeks.
“This bullish momentum has been enough to push FOMO to its highest level since January 2nd,” Santiment noted.
Related: Crypto Biz: Circle stock defies Wall Street and digital asset selloff
“In spite of global uncertainty at the moment, traders are once again seeing crypto as a sector with rise potential in the coming weeks and months.”
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index score, a measure of Bitcoin and crypto market sentiment, also increased five points to 28 on Tuesday — escaping the “Extreme Fear” zone for the first time since late January.
Magazine: Bitcoin’s ‘narrative vacuum,’ Ethereum now inevitable: Trade Secrets
Blockchain data provider Messari has announced a series of layoffs on Monday as its CEO, Eric Turner, stepped down to make way for the company’s “next phase” as an AI-first company.
“Today, I stepped down as CEO of Messari and handed the reins to Diran,” Turner said on X on Monday, referring to Diran Li, who ascended after serving as chief technology officer of the company for more than seven years.
He added that it “wasn’t an easy decision, but it’s the right one for the company’s next phase, and he has my full support.”
Turner took over as interim CEO in July 2024 following founder Ryan Selkis’ resignation. Speaking about the staff cuts, Turner said it was a “difficult day for the team as we say goodbye to many people who helped build Messari.”
There were no details on the number of staff cuts. Messari laid off roughly 15% of its full-time staff in January 2025 and made a similar workforce reduction in February 2023.
Messari pivots to an AI-first company
In a separate post, Diran Li announced that he was stepping into the CEO role at Messari.
“After conversations with Eric and the board, we agreed this is the right step for the company’s next chapter,” he said.
Li confirmed the cuts, stating that the transition also includes a difficult decision: “We’ve parted ways with many teammates who helped build Messari into what it is today.”
“Looking ahead, we’re doubling down on Messari as an AI-first company serving institutions through research and AI products.”
Messari began as a pure crypto research and data company in 2018, and gradually started incorporating AI into its products in 2024.
Related: AI data center gold rush sparks debate over impact on Bitcoin mining
Blockchain intelligence for agentic AI
Last week, Li announced that Messari was opening its data layer to autonomous agents, adopting the x402 protocol to “bring our institutional-grade crypto intelligence to every builder and agent on the internet.”
The move will allow developers and AI agents to autonomously source and pay for data from the blockchain intelligence company using crypto wallets.
Messari is the latest crypto native company to expand from the industry to AI, following in the recent footsteps of Core Scientific, Cipher Mining, MARA Holdings, Hut 8, and Galaxy Digital.
Magazine: Metaplanet’s Japan Bitcoin bet, Bithumb ordered suspension: Asia Express
NFT marketplace OpenSea has decided to delay the launch of its native token, SEA.
Summary
- OpenSea delays SEA token launch, with CEO Devin Finzer citing challenging market conditions and no revised timeline announced.
- Waves reward campaign set to conclude as SEA allocation plans are adjusted.
Announcing the update on X, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer cited “challenging market conditions” as the primary reason behind the decision.
The SEA token was first introduced in February 2025 and was subsequently set to be released around March 30 as part of its broader rollout plans.
SEA is expected to form the core of OpenSea’s long-term push to build a “trade everything” app, a multi-chain platform that would support token trading, NFTs, and features such as perpetual futures.
As previously reported by crypto.news, the native token would function as both a utility and governance asset, offering discounted trading fees, staking tied to NFT collections, and community participation in platform decisions.
However, the platform is now delaying the rollout amid weak market conditions that have continued to weigh on NFT activity.
For instance, since the start of the year, data from CryptoSlam shows that total NFT market capitalization has dropped by more than 50%, falling from around $3.2 billion in mid January to roughly $1.62 billion.
Further, marketplaces like OpenSea have also seen a sharp decline in activity, with monthly NFT trading volumes now consistently below $500 million, far below levels recorded during the 2021 to 2022 cycle.
Finzer said the team wants to ensure that “every piece is in place” before moving ahead, but did not provide a new timeline for the token launch.
Meanwhile, he also clarified details around its ongoing “Waves” reward program, which has been running since October to determine SEA token allocation for users.
With the launch now delayed, OpenSea is giving users who participated in Waves 3 to 6 the option to claim refunds on platform fees collected during that period, if they agree to forfeit their Treasure Chest rewards. Treasures are point-based rewards that users can use to unlock incentives and prizes within the platform.
“While we’re postponing our March 30 event, we’ll host a separate one in the coming months focused on product updates. It’s been incredible to see the early responses to our mobile app, and we can’t wait to get it into more people’s hands,” he added.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is moving to reduce years of ambiguity around a broker-dealer reporting rule that had limited which assets could be quoted on the over-the-counter (OTC) market. Rule 15c2-11, originally adopted in 1971 to curb penny-stock fraud, requires broker-dealers to keep current public information about a listed issuer before publishing quotes. In 2021, the rule was reinterpreted to also cover fixed-income securities, a shift that drew backlash from market participants and raised questions about crypto securities. In a Monday statement, the SEC proposed an amendment to limit the rule’s scope to equity securities, effectively reversing the 2021 interpretation. The move arrives amid a broader regulatory push to clarify how crypto assets fit within traditional market structures.
Hester Peirce, a commissioner who leads the SEC’s crypto task force, welcomed the proposal and argued that the commission had created years of uncertainty through a 2020 amendment and its 2021 application. She noted that, by the letter of Rule 15c2-11, the rule has always applied to quotations of a “security,” but market participants and observers understood it to cover only OTC equity securities. The commissioner stressed that long-term relief should have been granted while the agency assessed whether extending the rule to fixed income was appropriate and amended the rule as needed. Instead, she said, the commission issued several rounds of limited relief—often lasting only a few months—fostering ongoing uncertainty in the market.”
Key takeaways
- The SEC proposes narrowing Rule 15c2-11’s reporting obligations to equity securities on OTC markets, reversing the 2021 interpretation that extended it to fixed-income assets.
- The agency has opened a 60-day public comment period to gather feedback on how “equity securities” should be defined and whether crypto assets might fall under that category.
- The proposal highlights the commission’s intent to reduce regulatory ambiguity that has affected market participants and product development, including crypto-related offerings.
- Regulators including the SEC and CFTC have been signaling a broader drive to align crypto oversight with traditional markets, as evidenced by recent coordination efforts.
- The discussion includes questions about the potential creation of an “expert market” and how crypto assets could be treated within that framework.
Tickers mentioned: $BTC, $ETH, $COIN
Market context: The proposal comes amid a broader US regulatory push to bring crypto markets into clearer regulatory alignment. By seeking public input on whether crypto assets might be treated under the equity-security framework, the SEC signals a path toward greater certainty—while leaving open how crypto securities would be defined within an updated interpretation of “security.” The move follows a recent memorandum between the SEC and the CFTC aimed at coordinating oversight of financial markets, including crypto, with the aim of reducing regulatory turf wars between the agencies.
Why it matters
The SEC’s proposal addresses a longstanding friction point for market participants that rely on OTC quotes. By narrowing the scope to equity securities, the agency signals that the reporting requirements may not automatically extend to other asset classes, including crypto-related instruments, unless they are clearly defined as securities under existing frameworks. This could reduce the compliance burden for issuers and broker-dealers dealing in non-equity assets on the OTC platform, while also sharpening the framework for evaluating crypto offerings that may seek to register or quote under traditional market channels.
The move also reflects a broader regulatory stance under the current administration to bring crypto markets under clearer governance. A 60-day public-comment period will let industry participants, exchanges, and other stakeholders weigh in on how to interpret “equity security” and whether crypto assets could be included in that category. As the sector continues to evolve with tokenized assets and new fundraising structures, the SEC is signaling that it intends to refine statutory boundaries rather than rely on ad hoc relief measures that can create market fragmentation.
Beyond the technical interpretation of Rule 15c2-11, the development sits within a larger regulatory dialogue. The SEC and the CFTC have moved toward coordination to supervise financial markets more coherently, including crypto activities. This alignment could shape how future disclosures, investor protections, and market access rules are applied to a wide range of digital-asset offerings, potentially smoothing pathways for compliant token projects or raising the bar for those that fall outside established securities laws.
What to watch next
- 60-day public comment window: Stakeholders should monitor the closing date for formal feedback and any subsequent agency responses or revisions to the proposal.
- Definition of equity security: Watch for clarifications on what constitutes an equity security and how that definition could encompass or exclude crypto assets.
- Crypto asset applicability: Assess whether the SEC will provide further guidance on crypto securities and the criteria for including crypto assets within the scope of Rule 15c2-11.
- Regulatory coordination: Look for developments in the SEC–CFTC coordinated framework and any new guidance on how the two agencies will supervise crypto markets together.
Sources & verification
- SEC press release: Proposes amendments to Exchange Act Rule 15c2-11 (https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026-28-sec-proposes-amendments-exchange-act-rule-15c2-11)
- SEC speech by Commissioner Hester Peirce on Rule 15c2-11 (https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/peirce-nal-rule-15c2-11-2021-09-24)
- SEC and CFTC coordination memorandum concerning regulatory oversight of financial markets, including crypto (https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-cftc-sign-memo-regulate-markets-harmony)
Regulatory update on OTC quotes and crypto implications
The proposed amendment to Rule 15c2-11 represents a recalibration of how the SEC views the intersection of OTC quotation practices and the evolving crypto landscape. While the agency has not irrevocably defined crypto assets as equity securities, the public-comment process will illuminate whether and how the current rule could be extended or adapted to cover crypto instruments that exhibit ownership rights or other features typically associated with securities. In the meantime, market participants should prepare for a potential shift in disclosure requirements for OTC quotations, particularly as new crypto-native products and token offerings seek broader access to traditional market venues.
Related: SEC-CFTC coordination on crypto markets
What the proposal changes for market participants
For broker-dealers and issuers involved in OTC quotations, the narrowing focus to equity securities could ease compliance burdens for non-equity instruments, as long as those assets fall outside the defined scope of “equity security.” However, the public-comment period also invites scrutiny of whether the definition is sufficiently robust to address crypto assets that exhibit security-like characteristics. The commission’s emphasis on a precise, demonstrable ownership or equity-like interest could shape how new crypto projects consider their disclosure strategies before pursuing otc quotation or listing arrangements.
The dialogue underscores a deeper aim: to balance investor protection with market accessibility. By refining when and how assets can be quoted on OTC platforms, regulators aim to reduce unnecessary friction while maintaining transparent information flows that help investors make informed decisions. In the longer term, this could influence token issuers’ strategies for capital formation, exchanges’ quotation policies, and the overall risk profile of OTC markets that have historically served as a bridge between private offerings and public markets.
Bitcoin briefly touched $75,912 early Tuesday before pulling back to $74,372, but the intraday volatility is less interesting than the weekly picture beneath it.
CoinDesk reported earlier Tuesday that the push above $75,000 was driven by derivatives activity rather than fresh buying, specifically the closure of large $60,000 put positions that forced market makers to buy spot bitcoin as they rebalanced.
The rapid pullback below $74,400, a former support level from April 2025, confirmed that traders aren’t willing to chase above that level without a fundamental catalyst.
Every major token is up at least 5% over seven days. Ether climbed 13.3% to $2,316. xrp rose 11% to $1.53, olana gained 9.7% to $93.92. Dogecoin added 9.5% to $0.10, back above a dime. BNB rose 5% to $676. This is the broadest sustained rally since before the Iran war began, and it’s happening heading into the most consequential Fed meeting in months.
But the institutional flow data underneath the rally is real and getting harder to dismiss. CF Benchmarks analyst Mark Pilipczuk noted in an email that spot bitcoin ETFs drew roughly $767 million in net inflows last week, the third consecutive week of positive flows and a sharp reversal from the five-week, $3 billion-plus outflow streak earlier in the year.
The gold convergence trade is another signal worth watching. Year-to-date through mid-March, GLD returned roughly 16% while IBIT lost approximately 19%. But that gap has narrowed sharply, with bitcoin outperforming gold by 13.2% since early March. The 90-day correlation between the two shifted from -0.27 to +0.29 over six months. The “digital gold” narrative that looked dead in February is getting oxygen again.
The Fed meeting that begins today and concludes Wednesday is the pivot point. CME FedWatch still prices a 95%+ probability of a hold at 3.5% to 3.75%, so the decision itself is a non-event.
What matters is the dot plot and Powell’s press conference. Oil above $100 makes the stagflation case unavoidable, but the labor market is weakening, with February’s 92,000 job loss still fresh. The Fed is caught between two mandates pulling in opposite directions, and how Powell articulates that tension on Wednesday could set the direction for risk assets through the end of March.
Texas-based apparel company Beba and crypto lobby group DeFi Education Fund have withdrawn a 2024 lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its approach to airdrops, citing a recent shift in the regulator’s approach to crypto.
Beba launched a free token airdrop in March 2024 and, together with the DeFi Education Fund, filed a pre-enforcement challenge against the SEC that year.
The lawsuit alleged the regulator had adopted its digital asset enforcement policy without a formal notice-and-comment rulemaking process, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
The voluntary dismissal, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas on Friday, cites the SEC Crypto Task Force’s work and statements by Commissioner Hester Peirce in several speeches last year suggesting airdropped tokens are not securities.
The filing also flags Peirce’s suggestion in May that the SEC is considering an exemption framework for airdrops, and a White House executive action from January encouraging the regulator to establish a “safe harbor for certain airdrops.”
“Given the good work done by the SEC Crypto Task Force and recent speeches that suggest a change in the Commission’s position regarding free airdrops, we decided continuing was unnecessary for the time being and we can re-file if we need to later on,” the DeFi Education Fund said in an X post on Friday.
“The DEF team expects that the SEC Crypto Task Force will address airdrops soon—the foundational issue at hand in this lawsuit,” it added.
Case dismissed without prejudice, for now
The dismissal was filed without prejudice, preserving Beba’s and the DeFi Education Fund’s right to refile if needed.
“Should the expected guidance fail to materialize or be insufficient, Plaintiffs preserve their right to refile their claims,” lawyers acting for the pair wrote in the court document.
SEC’s evolving stance on crypto
Under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the agency drew heavy criticism from the crypto industry for allegedly crafting policy through enforcement actions and legal settlements rather than formal rulemaking.
Related: SEC seeks comment on crypto handling in OTC broker-dealer rule
Since Gensler resigned on Jan. 20 2025, crypto proponents have seen a regulatory shift by the SEC, including the dismissal of several long-running enforcement actions against crypto firms.
In a recent case, the SEC dropped a two-year lawsuit against Nader Al-Naji, founder of the blockchain-based social media platform BitClout, for allegedly raising more than $257 million by selling the native token of the BitClout platform and spending more than $7 million on personal items.
Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
[PRESS RELEASE – Vilnius, Lithuania, March 16th, 2026]
WhiteBIT, the largest European exchange by traffic, has announced its selection as one of 11 companies invited to participate in Ghana’s pioneering crypto regulatory sandbox. The sandbox, launched by the Ghana Securities and Exchange Commission in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana, is designed to test and refine regulated digital asset trading in a controlled environment.
WhiteBIT’s inclusion in the sandbox marks a major milestone in the company’s strategic expansion into the African market. As crypto adoption accelerates across the continent, WhiteBIT’s regulated platform and compliance expertise position it to play a central role in helping shape the next generation of digital finance infrastructure.
“WhiteBIT’s mission has always been to deliver secure, compliant, and accessible crypto services,” said Volodymyr Nosov, Founder and President of W Group, which WhiteBIT is a part of. “Being selected for Ghana’s regulatory sandbox not only underscores our commitment to responsible market expansion but also reflects our confidence in Africa’s potential to lead in digital finance.”
The sandbox initiative invites selected licensed firms to operate under regulatory supervision while sharing insights and data that will inform future licensing frameworks for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The pilot aims to ensure that crypto trading and related services evolve in a manner that protects consumers, enhances transparency, and fosters financial innovation.
A Fast‑Growing Crypto Market
Ghana has emerged as one of Africa’s most dynamic markets for digital asset adoption. According to Chainalysis, Ghana ranks among the top five crypto adoption hubs in Africa, alongside Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. More broadly, Africa is currently the third-largest region globally in crypto adoption, following the Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Latin America markets.
According to the central bank, 3 million Ghanaians — approximately 17 % of the adult population — actively use cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and stablecoins, for trading, payments, and remittances.
In December 2025, Ghana’s parliament approved the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, which legalizes cryptocurrency trading under clear licensing and compliance standards, further creating a solid basis for institutional participation.
Opportunity for Responsible Innovation
Ghana’s regulated sandbox initiative and passage of comprehensive crypto laws signal a strategic shift toward integrating digital assets into the country’s broader financial ecosystem. For WhiteBIT, participation in this program offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with regulators, technologists, and local partners to refine best practices that could extend well beyond Ghana’s borders.
“As Africa’s crypto landscape continues to evolve, WhiteBIT is committed to bringing compliant, secure, and innovative solutions to markets that are ready for next‑generation financial services,” Nosov added.
About WhiteBIT
WhiteBIT is the largest European cryptocurrency exchange by traffic, offering over 900 trading pairs, 350+ assets, and supporting 8 fiat currencies. Founded in 2018, the platform is a part of W Group which serves more than 35 million customers globally. WhiteBIT collaborates with Visa, FACEIT, FC Juventus and the Ukrainian national football team. The company is dedicated to driving the widespread adoption of blockchain technology worldwide.
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