The recently founded firm Zcash Open Development Lab (ZODL) — formed by the core developers of Zcash (ZEC) after they recently exited Electric Coin Capital — announced today, March 9, that it has secured over $25 million in seed funding to support the privacy-focused ecosystem.

A number of prominent venture capital firms and investors participated in the seed round, including Paradigm, a16z crypto, Winklevoss Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Cypherpunk Technologies, Maelstrom, Chapter One, Balaji Srinivasan, Haseeb Qureshi, and Mert.

In a separate X post today, the founder of ZODL and former CEO of ECC, Josh Swihart, explained the move, the recent organization shifts, and the org’s goals post-funding:

“ Ultimately, we intend to deliver a private, decentralized financial system as an alternative to legacy institutions. This funding allows us to bring these ambitions to life, without relying on Zcash dev fund grants to get there.”

The price of ZEC rallied nearly 10% to over $215 on the news, making it the second-best performer among the top-100 crypto assets today.

ECC to ZODL

The fundraising round marks a major milestone for the new firm, which formed after a governance dispute in January that resulted in the entire core development and leadership team at ECC leaving.

ECC’s wallet app, Zalshi — now rebranded to Zodl — was a key focus of the dispute, as ECC and the nonprofit board overseeing it, Bootstrap, disagreed about the app’s development strategy.

Under Swihart’s leadership, the former ECC team swiftly moved to form a new entity and wallet, which are effectively rebrands of ECC and Zalshi, respectively. Swihart also clarified at the time that the team had no intentions of leaving the Zcash ecosystem or its core development.

This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.

The White House recently published President Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America, which states that the administration will pursue “supporting the security of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies” as part of a broader effort to “build secure technologies and supply chains that protect user privacy from design to deployment.”

This marks the first time a U.S. presidential cybersecurity document has explicitly named blockchain as a protected technology class, placing it alongside post-quantum cryptography and AI in the administration’s national security priorities.

The document also contains language with potential enforcement implications for crypto, calling on the government to “uproot criminal infrastructure and deny financial exit and safe haven,” framing cybercrime and intellectual property theft as “some of the greatest threats to global economies.” The administration also signed a companion executive order on the same day targeting cybercrime and fraud, which is expected to shape how agencies enforce the policy.

On the regulatory side, it commits the administration to streamlining compliance burdens across the board, pledging to “streamline cyber regulations to reduce compliance burdens, address liability, and better align regulators and industry globally” so that “the private sector has the agility necessary to keep pace with rapidly evolving threats.”

For crypto, the bottom line is a dual message: recognition as critical infrastructure worthy of federal protection, paired with a signal that the administration will pursue the illicit finance channels that the industry has long struggled to police.

Pudgy Penguins has officially launched Pudgy World, a free-to-play browser-based game.

Set across a fictional frozen landscape called The Berg, the game features 12 unique towns for players to explore. The central storyline tasks players with helping the character Pengu track down a missing friend named Polly, with mini-games woven throughout. The multiplayer setup means players can explore The Berg together in real time.

The launch marks a significant milestone for one of crypto’s most successful crossover brands. Pudgy Penguins was purchased by current CEO Luca Netz in 2022 and has since evolved from a forgotten relic of 2021’s NFT summer into one of the top collections in the NFT space.

What has set Pudgy Penguins apart from its peers is an aggressive push into mainstream consumer products. The brand’s IP coverage expanded steadily under Netz, with physical toys featured in Walmart and Amazon, a children’s book deal with Random House, and a mobile game called Pudgy Party, which became the top-ranked mobile racing game in Apple’s App Store within three days of its release.

The ecosystem’s PENGU token is up 7% in the past 24 hours, trading at a $440 million market capitalization.

Pudgy World is designed to bring the brand’s broad audience, spanning physical retail, social media, mobile gaming, and crypto, into a single, shared interactive space.

Traders compare crypto futures platforms as derivatives activity grows across major exchanges.

Growing institutional and retail participation in cryptocurrency derivatives markets has prompted traders to examine the technical specifications of futures trading platforms more closely. Comparisons between BTCC, Binance, and Bybit reveal differences in leverage availability, trading costs, margin systems, and platform features.

Leverage and fees

Higher leverage allows traders to control larger positions with smaller margin deposits, but also increases the risk of liquidation when prices move against a position.

Bybit offers up to 200x, and Binance caps leverage at 125x on major perpetual futures pairs. BTCC offers the highest maximum leverage of the three platforms, at up to 500x on select perpetual futures contracts.

On maker fees — charged when a trader places a limit order that adds liquidity to the order book — Binance and Bybit both charge 0.02%, while BTCC charges 0.025%. On taker fees — charged when a trader executes a market order — Bybit charges the highest rate at 0.055%, followed by BTCC at 0.045% and Binance at 0.04%. All three platforms offer tiered fee structures in which higher trading volumes or account balances qualify users for reduced rates.

Contract types and margin modes

All three exchanges offer USDT-margined perpetual futures contracts, which settle in Tether (USDT). Binance and Bybit additionally offer coin-margined contracts, which allow traders to use cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ether as collateral. BTCC focuses on USDT perpetual contracts.

Cross-margin and isolated margin modes are available across all three platforms. Binance and Bybit also offer portfolio margin, which allows traders to offset positions and reduce capital requirements. BTCC does not list portfolio margin as a feature.

All three platforms maintain insurance funds intended to cover losses that exceed a trader’s margin balance during liquidation events. Each exchange also employs an auto-deleveraging mechanism, which reduces the positions of profitable traders when insurance funds cannot fully absorb a liquidation shortfall. Margin calls are issued across all three platforms when a trader’s equity falls below maintenance thresholds.

Demo and simulated trading

BTCC offers a demo trading environment that operates within the main platform interface using virtual funds. Binance and Bybit provide simulated trading through separate testnet environments. Testnets are distinct from demo environments, as they run on separate blockchain infrastructure rather than replicating live platform conditions.

BTCC was founded in 2011, making it the oldest of the three exchanges. Binance launched in 2017 and grew to become one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume. Bybit was founded in 2018 with a focus on derivatives trading.

The three platforms offer comparable core functionality in several areas, including USDT perpetuals, cross and isolated margin modes, insurance funds, and tiered fee structures, while differing on leverage ceilings, taker fee rates, contract variety, and the scope of available margin tools.

Bitcoin whipsawed between $65k and $69k as oil spiked then retreated, underscoring that macro energy shocks still script BTC’s role as a global risk barometer.

Bitcoin (BTC) reminded markets on Monday that macro still writes the script. After sliding to roughly $65,000 earlier in the session, the benchmark cryptocurrency snapped back toward $69,000 as crude oil retreated sharply from near $120 per barrel on headlines that strategic reserves could be tapped. CoinMarketCap summed it up bluntly: “Bitcoin recovered to around $69,000 after falling to $65,000, rebounding as oil pulled back sharply from near $120 per barrel following reports that strategic reserves may be tapped.”

That sequence – energy shock fears, then relief, then a crypto bid – was not lost on traders watching the tape. One macro‑focused account responded that “when energy shock fears fade, crypto catches a bid almost immediately,” framing BTC as a high‑beta expression of global risk appetite rather than an isolated digital asset. Another observer at Zeconomy wrote: “From 65K to 69K on an oil pullback is a good reminder that BTC still trades like a global risk barometer,” underlining how quickly flows rotate once pressure eases in commodities.​

At the same time, positioning around key levels remains central to how this move is being read. Aequalis Lab argued that “if it holds 67k, next week could get spicy,” pointing to the mid‑$60K band as a line in the sand for trend traders. Short‑term sentiment, at least among vocal bulls, has already flipped back toward accumulation: one trader insisted that “$69K proves the dip was just a blip, accumulation continues,” while another suggested that future “nostalgia about buying BTC at current levels” will dominate once prices move to “levels that seem somewhat unbelievable to most of the market.”

For now, spot data show Bitcoin trading near $68,600, up about 2.5% over the last 24 hours, with 24‑hour turnover above $50.7 billion and a market capitalization north of $1.35 trillion. Ethereum changes hands around $2,011, down roughly 3.7% on the day with a market cap of about $260.2 billion, while Solana trades near $83.76, up roughly 2.7% over the same period as liquidity rotates down the risk curve.

Analysts say Bitcoin increasingly sits inside ETFs and corporate treasuries.

Bitcoin reserves held on centralized exchanges have fallen back to levels last seen in 2019. Data shared by crypto market analyst Dark Fost shows that exchange reserves have been steadily declining since 2022.

This trend has accelerated following the collapse of the FTX exchange.

Bitcoin Supply Migration

In November 2022 alone, more than 325,000 BTC were withdrawn from exchange reserves as investors moved their assets off centralized platforms. As a result of this continued outflow, total BTC reserves on exchanges accessible to retail investors have now dropped to roughly 2.7 million BTC.

Among these platforms, Binance alone accounts for approximately 20% of the remaining reserves. When platforms primarily used by professional investors are included in the analysis, Coinbase Advanced ranks first, holding close to 800,000 BTC. However, this figure is still about 200,000 BTC lower than the level recorded in July 2025.

Dark Fost stated that while the FTX collapse played a major role in encouraging investors to hold assets in private wallets, two additional developments have also contributed to the reduction in exchange balances. The first is the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January 2024. At the time of their introduction, exchange reserves were still above 3.2 million BTC. Since then, ETFs have accumulated around 1.3 million BTC, which represents roughly 6.7% of Bitcoin’s total supply and effectively removes that amount from exchange liquidity.

The second factor is the growth of digital asset treasury companies (DATs) that hold Bitcoin as a reserve asset. Collectively, these firms now control about 1.1 million BTC, or nearly 5% of the total supply. Both ETF holdings and corporate treasuries represent a growing share of Bitcoin supply held in structured financial vehicles.

“Over the long term, this transformation could play an important role in market liquidity and price formation, even if these structural effects always take time to fully materialize.”

Geopolitical Tensions Halt Breakout

Against this backdrop of changing supply patterns, Bitcoin entered the second week of March under pressure as markets remained focused on escalating tensions in the Middle East. The cryptocurrency recently failed a breakout attempt above $70,000 as the ongoing US-Iran conflict contributed to broader market uncertainty. Despite the pullback, crypto trader and analyst Michaël van de Poppe said BTC’s current price action does not represent a worst-case scenario.

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In his latest post on X, the trader noted that Bitcoin continues to trade within a range but described the performance as relatively strong given the current market conditions. According to him, oil prices surged about 15% on Monday to their highest levels since 2022, while gold and commodities declined, and the Nasdaq fell significantly. Van de Poppe added that if the US stock market opens higher and oil prices begin to correct, Bitcoin could regain momentum toward $70,000.

Already on a tear ahead of the war in Iran, Circle (CRCL) might be an unlikely beneficiary of the conflict.

The stock rose 10% on Monday, outperforming other crypto-linked equities, with the shares now up by 86% over the past month, though they remain sharply lower since their peak post-IPO frenzy last summer.

Japanese bank Mizuho said part of the Circle rally reflects the jump in oil prices following the escalation in Middle East tensions. Higher crude prices could reignite inflationary pressures, potentially reducing expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Other things being equal, stablecoin issuers are thought to benefit from higher interest rates as that means higher yields on their invested dollars.

Indeed, oil prices have surged since hostilities erupted in the Gulf, with WTI crude up roughly 35% since Feb. 28. Higher energy prices tend to fuel inflation and can limit central banks’ ability to cut interest rates.

Positioning has surely played a role as well.

While the company reported solid growth in USDC supply in its fourth-quarter earnings, analysts say the magnitude of the move likely reflected a crowded short trade ahead of the release.

“The magnitude of the move wasn’t purely about the headline numbers. Positioning was the real catalyst,” said Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research.

According to his data, hedge funds had accumulated sizable bearish bets ahead of the report. That setup created what Thielen described as a “high-probability short squeeze rather than a fundamental re-rating.”

Short interest currently stands at about 13% of the float, equivalent to roughly two days to cover, according to FactSet data.

Read more: Circle moves $68 million in just 30 minutes by using its own stablecoin for internal payments

Crypto brokerage company Blockchain.com is expanding into Ghana as part of a broader push to grow its presence across Africa, following rapid user growth in Nigeria over the past year.

The company said it plans to offer Ghanaian users access to its trading platform as it builds out regional infrastructure and explores additional African markets.

The expansion follows strong growth in Nigeria, where the company launched retail operations last year and reported more than a 700% increase in brokerage transaction volume. According to the company, the most traded assets on its platform in the country have been Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and Tron (TRX).

The company said Ghana has also seen rising activity on its platform ahead of the formal launch, with active users increasing 140% over the past year and transaction volumes climbing 80%.

“We are actively collaborating with Ghanaian officials and regulators to help build a regulatory framework and have already established local compliance representation in Ghana,” a Blockchain.com spokesperson said.