Over a third of tracked altcoins now sit near cycle lows despite a broader market stabilization.

On-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant reports that 38% of altcoins are currently trading close to their all-time lows, marking a more severe retracement than the period following the collapse of FTX. The metric, highlighted by analyst Darkfost, is designed to capture how many alternative tokens remain under sustained selling pressure, even as the broader market shows signs of stabilization.

In a note summarized on social media, Darkfost describes this as the largest regression in altcoins observed so far in the current cycle, underscoring how uneven the recovery has been between blue-chip assets and the long tail of speculative tokens.

Market participants commenting on the data pointed out that, unlike the post-FTX phase—when forced liquidations and distressed selling drove prices lower—the current environment features relatively fewer obvious forced sellers. Instead, altcoin weakness appears to be driven by a mix of low liquidity, tighter risk budgets, and a rotation into more established names such as BTC and ETH, which have captured the bulk of inflows into spot markets and regulated products. One observer noted that in the FTX aftermath, once the main overhang cleared, many assets staged at least a reflexive bounce, whereas now a significant share of altcoins remains pinned near their lows despite occasional rallies in majors.investing+2

Dispersion and liquidity stress

The divergence described by CryptoQuant has important implications for portfolio construction and risk management across digital assets. Rising dispersion—where some segments of the market trend higher while others grind lower—tends to increase both opportunity and risk, particularly for funds attempting to rotate between themes or capture relative value. With a large share of altcoins near ATL, liquidity in many order books has thinned, raising the impact cost of entering or exiting positions and increasing the potential for sharp, “Bart-style” intraday moves noted by traders.

At the same time, the data suggests a growing concentration of market interest in a smaller set of higher-quality or more narrative-driven assets, including BTC, ETH, and ecosystems such as SOL that continue to see comparatively stronger developer and user activity. Centralized venues like Coinbase have also funneled more volume into a limited basket of listed tokens, further amplifying the relative underperformance of smaller caps that lack deep markets or institutional access. In Europe, evolving regulatory frameworks like MiCA may reinforce this concentration by encouraging platforms to prioritize assets with clearer compliance and disclosure profiles, potentially leaving many fringe altcoins structurally disadvantaged even if broader crypto sentiment improves.

Between February 28 and March 2, crypto outflows from Iranian exchanges surged to $10.3 million in the wake of US-Israeli airstrikes.

Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, witnessed a striking 700% rise in outgoing transaction volumes immediately after the airstrikes, as reported by Elliptic. This surge reflects the growing trend of utilizing cryptocurrencies as a financial refuge during periods of instability.

Iran’s crypto ecosystem was valued at $7.8 billion in 2025, with significant activity often linked to geopolitical events, according to Chainalysis. This pattern of on-chain spikes around major shocks, such as the Kerman bombings in early 2024 and direct clashes with Israel in 2024–2025, underscores the correlation between geopolitical crises and crypto market fluctuations.

The recent airstrikes are not the first event to trigger substantial crypto movements within Iran. During a January 8 internet blackout, Bitcoin withdrawals surged before flatlining, only to resume once connectivity was restored. This behavior suggests robust demand for decentralized financial solutions when traditional infrastructure falters.

This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.

CFTC chairman Michael Selig plans to enable US-listed crypto perpetual futures within weeks.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is preparing to clear a formal path for crypto perpetual futures to operate onshore, in what could mark one of the most significant structural shifts for the digital asset derivatives market since the approval of spot exchange-traded products. According to remarks attributed to chairman Michael Selig and relayed via a CoinDesk report, the agency is “working to launch professional futures—genuine professional futures—in the US within approximately the next month,” with multiple policy announcements expected soon. The initiative aims to reverse years of regulatory ambiguity that pushed a large share of perpetual futures activity to offshore platforms, leaving US markets reliant on less standardized products and fragmented liquidity.

Selig’s comments, delivered at a Washington event alongside SEC chair Paul Atkins, frame perpetual futures as a core tool for risk management and price discovery that should exist within a transparent, supervised environment rather than primarily on unregulated exchanges. He argued that the prior approach “failed to create a pathway” for onshore perpetuals, contributing to capital flight and an uneven playing field for US firms. Under the new direction, the CFTC intends to use its rulemaking powers to permit additional tokenized collateral types and to define conditions under which perpetual and other novel derivatives can list and trade, subject to margin, clearing, and conduct safeguards.

Impact on markets and venues

Market participants immediately began debating how onshore perpetuals could reshape flows between US-registered markets and offshore exchanges that have historically dominated perpetual volume. Some commentators suggested that regulated contracts could draw a portion of institutional and professional activity away from lightly supervised venues, especially once larger platforms such as Coinbase expand their CFTC-registered offerings beyond existing structured products. Others questioned whether leverage caps, onboarding requirements, and surveillance obligations might limit the appeal of US-listed perps relative to high-leverage offshore alternatives that remain outside the direct reach of American regulators.

The timing also intersects with broader reforms under “Project Crypto,” which seeks clearer rules for DeFi developers, prediction markets, and retail leveraged products, as well as parallel regulatory developments in other jurisdictions under regimes like MiCA. If successful, onshoring more of the perpetual futures complex could tighten the link between CFTC-supervised benchmarks and spot BTC markets, improving transparency while potentially reducing the systemic risk associated with opaque, cross-border leverage cycles. For traders and firms, the coming announcements will determine how quickly new contracts can list, which collateral will qualify, and whether a meaningful share of global perpetual liquidity migrates into the US regulatory perimeter.

Six major geopolitical and economic actions under President Donald Trump since mid-2025 have shared one precise tactical detail: they all happened on Friday nights, after equity markets closed and before futures liquidity fully developed.

This is not a coincidence. It is, according to pattern analysis, the single most consistent and operationally significant element of Trump’s conflict strategy — and arguably the most tradeable timing signal in macro markets today.

Trump’s Friday Night Strike Pattern Is the Most Tradeable Signal in Macro Right Now

Understanding why Trump uses Friday nights, and what happens to Bitcoin (BTC), equities, oil, and bonds in the 60 hours that follow, could give traders and investors a structural edge that most market participants are not pricing.

“Obviously, Trump chose weekends to carry out combat ops in Venezuela and Iran. Smart move to buy time before Wall Street opens and minimize market shocks. But here’s the structural shift: Markets used to rest on weekends. Now they don’t,” wrote Gracy Chen, CEO at Bitget.

Six Events Show A Singular Trump Playbook

The documented list by financial research firm The Kobeissi Letter is specific:

• On June 21, US and Israeli forces struck Iranian nuclear sites.
• On September 1, the US military targeted Caribbean drug boats.
• On October 10, a 100% tariff threat against China dropped after market close.
• On November 29, Trump closed Venezuelan airspace in its entirety.
• On December 25, military action commenced in Nigeria.
• On February 28, 2026, US forces struck Iran directly.

Every single one landed on a Friday night or early Saturday morning.

The pattern extends to Trump’s corporate pressure campaigns. On August 11, 2025, the Trump administration announced an Intel deal after weeks of public pressure on CEO Lip-Bu Tan, again, structured to land outside active trading hours.

That position returned over 80% in under two months for those who tracked the escalation sequence from the beginning.

The consistency across geopolitical strikes, tariff actions, and corporate confrontations is not accidental. It reflects a deliberate understanding of how financial markets process shock.

Why Friday Night? The Market Psychology Behind the Timing

When a major geopolitical event occurs during active market hours, price discovery breaks down. Liquidity thins immediately. Algorithms amplify every directional tick.

Intraday swings create panic that feeds on itself, producing disorderly markets that are difficult for any participant, including the administration, to read or control.

A Friday night announcement changes the dynamic entirely. Investors, institutions, and governments have a full weekend to process information, consult advisors, and model scenarios before a single share trades.

The shock is real, but the response is measured. Futures markets absorb the initial repricing on Sunday evening at 6 PM ET. This is a low-liquidity session where price moves are sharp but short-lived. Similarly, the gap between the emotional reaction and the rational reassessment becomes visible within hours.

This matters for Trump’s negotiation strategy in a specific way. Trump, by his own description and observable behavior, is highly responsive to financial market performance.

A disorderly market reaction during trading hours creates political and economic pressure, complicating his objectives.

A Friday night announcement gives markets time to digest, and gives Trump’s team time to read the reaction and calibrate the next message before Monday open.

The result: every Friday night event has been followed by:

• A Sunday evening futures shock
• A partial Monday recovery, and then
• A second, more sustained move in the same direction as the initial shock.

Is this three-phase sequence now repeatable enough to trade?

The 60-Hour Window: What Each Asset Does

The 60-hour window from Friday close to Monday open has produced near-identical cross-asset sequences across all six confirmed events.

At Sunday open, Bitcoin sells off 5–12% as it trades as a pure risk asset, with equity correlation spiking above 0.8. Ethereum (ETH) and altcoins fall by 15–25% from pre-event levels in the first 48 hours, as liquidity exits the most volatile assets first.

S&P 500 futures gap down 1.5–3%. Oil spikes 5–10% depending on proximity to energy infrastructure — Iran-related events have produced the sharpest initial moves.

The US dollar catches a strong safe-haven bid. Ten-year Treasury yields drop sharply as flight-to-quality demand floods the bond market.

By Monday morning, a partial reversal begins. Markets price a short engagement based on Trump’s well-documented preference for deals over prolonged conflicts.

BTC recovers 40–60% of its Sunday drawdown. Oil gives back 30–50% of its initial spike. Equity futures stabilize.

This Monday recovery is where most retail traders make their critical mistake.

The partial reversal appears to be a resolution signal. It is not. In every prior cycle, the Monday stabilization has failed. A second, more sustained leg in the original direction (lower equities, higher oil, weaker crypto) follows within 48–72 hours as the market acknowledges the conflict will not resolve quickly.

The correct trading behavior in the 60-hour window is not to react at Sunday open, because:

• Spreads are too wide
• Algorithms are front-running every move, and
• The liquidity is not there for clean execution.

The actionable entry for equities and BTC has historically arrived 48–72 hours after the initial shock, not at the shock itself.

The Bond Market Is the Real Signal

One element of the Friday night pattern that most crypto and equity traders overlook is the bond market’s role as a leading indicator of resolution.

In the April 9, 2025, tariff pause, the most significant de-escalation event of Trump’s second term, it was not equity market weakness that triggered the pivot. It was the bond market.

10 year Treasury yields surged sharply in the days leading up to April 9, signaling structural stress in fixed income that the administration could not ignore. When yields moved, Trump moved.

This dynamic has repeated across multiple cycles. Equity weakness gets bought. Oil spikes get dismissed as temporary.

However, when bond market stress becomes acute (when the 10-year yield is moving in ways that imply credit market dysfunction rather than simple flight-to-quality) the probability of de-escalation language rises sharply.

Traders positioning around the Friday night pattern should therefore monitor the bond market as the leading indicator of Trump’s next pivot, not equity prices or crypto sentiment.

What Makes This Pattern Durable?

The Friday night strike pattern has survived six confirmed events across radically different conflict types: military, tariff, corporate, and geopolitical, without breaking.

That durability comes from the underlying logic being structural rather than tactical. Trump’s three core second-term policy objectives are:

• Lowering inflation
• Cutting gasoline prices to $2 per gallon, and
• Positioning as a peace president in a midterm election year.

Every Friday night event creates short-term upward pressure on oil and inflation expectations. The Friday night timing passes as the mechanism Trump may be using to contain that pressure.

If history is any guide, he gives the markets a weekend to absorb shock before consumer-facing data, like gasoline prices at the pump, can register the move politically.

The pattern will break when one of two things changes:

• Trump abandons the deal-making framework entirely in favor of a genuinely prolonged conflict, or
• The Friday night announcement loses its market-timing advantage as participants anticipate and front-run the window.

Neither has happened across 13 months of observation.

Until one of those conditions is met, the 60-hour post-strike sequence (Sunday shock, Monday partial recovery, Tuesday confirmation) remains the most consistently repeatable cross-asset trading pattern in current macro markets.

As of March 3, 2026, with Brent crude above $85 per barrel and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down roughly 1,100 points, markets are in the phase that has historically preceded Trump’s conditional de-escalation signals.

The Friday night that created this moment is already history. The question is whether traders are positioned for what the pattern says comes next.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.

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U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael Selig said that the agency is “modernizing” its rules “so that there’s a place” for decentralized finance in the United States.

Speaking during a panel discussion with Securities and Exchange Commssion (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins at the Milken Institute today, March 3, Selig said that the agency is working on regulations around on-chain markets to “accommodate on-chain software systems.”

Selig noted that DeFi protocols have faced years of regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. — as well as regulation by enforcement — and that the CFTC wants to provide clarity as to when and how DeFi protocols fall under its jurisdiction:

“[…]The prior administration characterized many of these […] types of software systems as a type of exchange or broker. We’re gonna make sure it’s very clear as to what implicates the CFTC’s regulations and what doesn’t,” Selig stated, adding:

“And to the extent that an on-chain software system or frontend does implicate our rules and regulations we’re modernizing and future proofing those rules so that there’s a place for all of that.”

SEC chair Atkins echoed the sentiment, reiterating that the SEC is committed to working together with the CFTC on crypto regulations.

The CFTC Chairman said the two regulators are partnering to provide a “taxonomy” for crypto assets, namely by defining more clearly what’s a security and what’s not under U.S. law.

“Part of that starts with our existing derivatives markets,” Selig argued, continuing, “Many of the firms want to move on-chain. The prior administration drove a lot of these firms, and the liquidity, offshore.”

‘True’ Perps Are Coming to the US

The CFTC Chairman also commented on perpetual futures markets, saying that regulatory uncertainty under previous administrations had prevented these markets from being offered on U.S. regulated platforms.

Selig said, however, that regulated perps are coming to the U.S. “within the next month or so”:

“We need to have that liquidity here in the U.S. and we need the right investor protections to ensure that these firms don’t blow up and affect our shores. So we’re working toward getting […] true perpetual futures […] here in the U.S. within the next month or so.”

Prediction Markets Need Clarity

During the panel discussion, the two Chairs were also asked about prediction markets, which exploded into mainstream popularity over the past year.

Chairman Selig said that the CFTC and SEC have a lot of shared authority in regard to prediction markets, stating that clarity for platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket is also coming soon.

“We’re going to be setting very clear standards as to what can be self-certified in our markets and what cannot and how to evaluate the different products that are offered in the space,” Selig said, adding:

“We are also planning to go forward with an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking in the near future that will set the stage for more fulsome rulemaking.”

The comments come just a week after the CFTC announced it was filing a “friend-of-the-court” brief in Nevada in support of Crypto.com, arguing more broadly that prediction markets should fall under the federal agency’s supervision, not that of separate state regulators.

“We’re really excited to continue to modernize and upgrade our rules for the 21st century,” Selig concluded.

This regulatory shift in the U.S. was also marked last summer by the SEC’s unveiling of its broader initiative, “Project Crypto,” which aims to “modernize” securities regulations in the U.S. in an effort to bring capital markets on-chain.

Meanwhile, the crypto industry is still waiting for U.S. lawmakers to pass a broader crypto market structure bill, as discussion continue in the Senate.

This morning, three days after US-Israeli military strikes killed Supreme leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Polymarket traders thought they’d found his replacement — and then lost more than half of their position values by lunchtime. 

Alireza Arafi, a little-known cleric, was the frontrunner among binary options traders on Polymarket at a 22% odds rate this morning. However, he’d plummeted to 9% at time of writing.

With Khamenei dead and Iran’s theocratic leadership in disarray, its de facto interim leadership council, the Expediency Discernment Council, named Arafi on Sunday to join Masoud Pezeshkian and Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i in a three-person body governing the country under Article 111 of its constitution. 

Arafi is also deputy chairman of the Assembly of Experts, the 88-member clerical body that normally selects the country’s supreme leader. Earlier today, Israel detonated munitions at the Assembly of Experts building.

Finally, Arafi is a member of the Guardian Council, which vets candidates for that very assembly.

In summary, Arafi currently holds an interim leadership position alongside the country’s two other highest-ranking men, helps decide who may run in contention, and sits on the body that votes for candidates.

Sometimes, Polymarket traders get it wrong. Other times, they simply read an org chart.

Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated prediction market platform, is facing backlash over its handling of markets linked to the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Traders expressed dissatisfaction with Kalshi’s decision not to resolve a market titled “Ali Khamenei out as Supreme Leader?” to “yes” after his death was announced.

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour explained the company’s no-death-market policy, stating, “We don’t list markets directly tied to death. When there are markets where potential outcomes involve death, we design the rules to prevent people from profiting from death.” The platform reimbursed fees and settled trades based on the odds when the market closed at 39.5%, rather than a full resolution to “yes,” which would have resulted in far higher payouts.

Kalshi’s market rules specified that if a leader leaves solely due to death, the market would resolve based on the last traded price prior to the death. Despite this, some users remained frustrated, urging others to consider alternative platforms like Polymarket, which resolved a similar market to “yes.”

However, a similar dispute occurred when Polymarket ruled a U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro didn’t qualify as an “invasion,” upsetting traders at the time.

This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.

BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) has been experiencing sideways movement in its price for nearly a month. However, recent developments hint that this could be a turning point for the company. 

A notable purchase of over 50,900 ETH has sparked new interest, potentially signaling a shift in BMNR’s price and Ethereum’s (ETH) future.

BitMine’s Bold ETH Purchase: A Strategic Move for March

On March 2, BitMine made a significant acquisition, purchasing 50,9928 ETH, bringing its total holdings to 3.71% of all Ethereum supply. This is just 1.29% short of the company’s target of holding 5% of Ethereum’s supply.

Despite Ethereum’s price being in the red at the time of the purchase, BitMine’s Chairman Tom Lee believes that March will be a pivotal month for Ethereum and the broader crypto market.

“We understand war headlines make investors nervous, but we expect stocks to be up in March: – led by MAG7, software IGV and crypto $BTC $ETH (sic),” Lee stated.

CMF Indicator Shows Potential Bullish Momentum

The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) has shown an uptick, signaling that investor support for BMNR may be growing. While the CMF is still below zero, the rising trend indicates that outflows are declining, which is a positive sign for the company. A move into the positive territory by the CMF could confirm that BMNR holders are supporting the price, further fueling optimism about a potential price reversal.

This uptick suggests that investor confidence is strengthening and could signal an incoming period of inflows. If the CMF crosses into the positive zone, it would provide confirmation that the market sentiment is shifting in favor of BMNR.

Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.

Bullish Divergence Amidst Geopolitical Challenges

The Money Flow Index (MFI) is showing a bullish divergence since the beginning of the year. The indicator has been forming lower highs, while BMNR’s price has seen lower lows, signaling a decrease in selling pressure. Despite the ongoing geopolitical instability in 2026, which has added volatility to global markets, the MFI suggests that BMNR is on track for a potential recovery.

Although external factors like geopolitical unrest have impacted BMNR’s price, the bullish divergence in the MFI suggests that the selling pressure is waning. This reduction in selling pressure could lead to a price rebound for BMNR in the near future.

Is BMNR Price Breaking Up With ETH?

Currently, BMNR is trading at $20.40, sitting just above the $19.06 support level. Maintaining this support is vital for BMNR to eventually break out above the $22.34 resistance. If BMNR stays above the $19.06 support, it may have the potential to rally in the coming weeks.

Interestingly, the correlation between BMNR and Ethereum has been decreasing, with the correlation currently at 0.36. This suggests that BMNR is less likely to follow Ethereum’s price movements, which is a positive sign. Ethereum has been in a period of consolidation, allowing BMNR more room to move independently and potentially rally.

However, there is a risk if BMNR holders panic due to ongoing geopolitical events. If the $19.06 support is lost, BMNR could see a drop toward the next major support at $15.45. This would invalidate the current bullish outlook and require careful monitoring of market conditions.

TLDR

• Ripple expanded its payments platform to support a full stablecoin workflow for banks and fintechs.
• The upgraded Ripple Payments platform now enables collection, custody, conversion, and payout using stablecoins.
• Ripple Payments operates in more than 60 markets and has processed over $100 billion in transaction volume.
• Ripple integrated its dollar-pegged stablecoin RLUSD into the expanded payments stack.
• RLUSD has reached a circulating supply of about $1.5 billion in the global stablecoin market.

Ripple has expanded its global payments platform to support a broader stablecoin workflow for banks and fintechs. The company aims to reduce reliance on pre-funded overseas accounts and speed up cross-border transactions. It announced the upgrade on Tuesday and confirmed expanded capabilities across its network.

Ripple upgrades payments platform with stablecoin workflow

Ripple upgraded Ripple Payments to support collection, custody, conversion, and payout through stablecoins. The company said the update connects financial institutions directly to blockchain-based settlement rails. As a result, clients can manage funds without parking capital in foreign accounts.

The platform operates in more than 60 markets and has processed over $100 billion in volume. Ripple stated that Switzerland’s AMINA Bank, Brazil’s Banco Genial, Malaysia’s ECIB, and Philippines-based AltPayNet participate in the network. The company said the expanded stack allows institutions to move funds faster while maintaining operational control.

Ripple is valued at $17.7 billion, according to Forge Global, which tracks pre-IPO shares. The company remains privately held while expanding its enterprise offerings. It said the new features position Ripple Payments to compete directly with legacy providers.

RLUSD stablecoin gains traction as supply reaches $1.5 billion

Ripple continues to integrate its dollar-pegged token, RLUSD, into its payments infrastructure. RLUSD trades at $1 and holds a circulating supply of about $1.5 billion. The company said the token supports real-time settlement across supported markets.

Ripple stated that RLUSD accounts for a small but growing share of the global stablecoin market. It said clients can hold, exchange, and settle transactions using fiat or stablecoins. The company completed its acquisition of Rail last August for $200 million to support these services.

Ripple also acquired custody and treasury automation firm Palisade to strengthen asset management. It said these acquisitions expand its custody and treasury capabilities within the payments stack. The company confirmed that these tools integrate with Ripple Payments.

In December, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved national trust bank charters for Ripple National Trust Bank. The regulator also granted conditional approvals to Circle, BitGo, Paxos Trust Company, and Fidelity Digital Assets. If finalized, the charters would allow asset and stablecoin reserve management under federal oversight.

Ripple chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty attended a February White House meeting on crypto legislation. He joined other crypto and banking representatives to discuss stablecoin provisions. Lawmakers continue negotiations in Washington, DC, over a proposed US crypto market structure bill.