Crypto World
Which US president was best for bitcoin?
United States President Donald Trump has marketed himself as the president who truly embraced bitcoin (BTC), but has his willingness to cooperate with the industry resulted in price appreciation compared to previous administrations?
Protos used data from CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap to plot BTC’s relative performance up to this point during Barack Obama’s second term, Trump’s first term, Joe Biden’s term, and Trump’s second term.
Read more: ANALYSIS: Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are cashing in on crypto
The best performance at this point was in Trump’s first term, which saw BTC appreciate from less than $900 to nearly $8,500, an increase of approximately 850%.
Meanwhile, the worst performance can be seen during the current Trump administration, which has overseen a fall for BTC from over $101,000 to just over $71,000, a decrease of nearly 30%.
The two Democrat presidents sit between these relative extremes, with Obama presiding over an increase in BTC’s price from $212 to $584, an jump of around 175%.
Biden and his much-maligned cryptocurrency regulatory regime saw the price increase from approximately $36,000 to $44,000, a rise of 23%.
Trump is the only one of these presidents who has set himself up to profit directly from the crypto industry.
He’s the co-founder emeritus of World Liberty Financial, earns returns from the $TRUMP memecoin and the line of Trump digital trading cards, and Trump Media and Technology Group, the firm behind his beloved Truth Social, has diversified into crypto exchange traded funds.
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Nasdaq’s push to bring tokenization into capital markets could lead to a dual-market structure in which traditional US exchanges operate alongside blockchain-based trading venues, according to TD Securities — a shift that could split trading activity and lead to price differences across platforms.
In a recent note, Reid Noch, vice president of US equity market structure at TD Securities, pointed to plans by Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange to introduce tokenization into alternative trading systems (ATS), a type of venue that matches buyers and sellers outside traditional exchanges.
While both exchanges are exploring tokenization, Noch said Nasdaq is pursuing three parallel initiatives: upgrading how trades are settled after execution, enabling companies to issue tokenized shares and supporting trading on offshore platforms such as Kraken.
Together, these efforts could result in two distinct systems — one within the regulated US market, and another operating through offshore, blockchain-based platforms.
However, TD Securities warns the expansion into offshore platforms could introduce a separate venue for trading the same underlying assets. These tokenized shares would be backed by real stocks but operate outside the US regulatory framework, with potential differences compared to traditional holdings.
For investors, that could mean the same stock trading in different places at different prices, making markets harder to follow and potentially shifting activity away from traditional exchanges.
Cointelegraph reached out to TD Securities for additional insights but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Related: Crypto Biz: Kraken plugs into the Fed
Tokenized trading moves into the mainstream
The market for tokenized assets has grown quickly in recent years, with equities emerging as the next major focus.
As Cointelegraph recently reported, Kraken’s xStocks platform, which offers tokenized versions of publicly traded shares that can be bought on blockchain-based venues, has surpassed $25 billion in cumulative trading volume, reflecting roughly 150% growth since November.
For traders, this points to a shift toward round-the-clock markets, where stocks can be traded outside regular hours. However, it could also bring new risks, including lower trading activity and price differences across platforms.
Coinbase has also expanded into tokenized stocks as part of its push to build an “everything exchange,” signaling growing competition between crypto platforms and traditional exchanges for equity trading.
NYSE, for its part, has also been exploring other tokenization initiatives through a partnership with Securitize, aimed at developing a platform for tokenized securities that could support extended or round-the-clock trading.
Related: VersaBank expands tokenized deposits with cross-border FX use case
The UK has sanctioned crypto marketplace Xinbi and Cambodia’s #8 Park scam compound over a $19.9b fraud and trafficking network, freezing London assets ahead of June’s Illicit Finance Summit.
Summary
- The UK sanctioned Xinbi — the first country to do so — after Chainalysis data showed it processed over $19.9 billion in illicit transactions between 2021 and 2025.
- Sanctions also target the operator of Cambodia’s “#8 Park” scam compound, believed to house up to 20,000 trafficked workers, along with multiple frozen London properties.
- The action precedes the UK’s Illicit Finance Summit in June, where officials plan to push for greater international coordination against crypto-enabled scam networks.
The UK government on March 26 sanctioned Xinbi, a Chinese-language cryptocurrency marketplace, making it the first country in the world to take such action against the platform. The measures, jointly announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Home Office, target what officials described as a key financial pillar of large-scale scam and human trafficking operations across Southeast Asia.
According to Chainalysis, Xinbi processed more than $19.9 billion in transactions between 2021 and 2025. The platform facilitated money laundering, unlicensed over-the-counter crypto trading, and the sale of stolen personal data, while also supplying communications infrastructure — including satellite internet equipment — used to target fraud victims. Crypto.news previously reported on Xinbi’s connection to the broader Telegram-based criminal marketplace ecosystem, where it operated alongside Haowang Guarantee, the largest darknet market ever recorded.
The sanctions extend beyond Xinbi itself to Legend Innovation Co., the operator of Cambodia’s “#8 Park” compound — a scam center believed to hold up to 20,000 trafficked workers — and its director Eang Soklim. The designated individuals are also linked to the Prince Group’s financial network, which the UK and U.S. sanctioned last year in an action that triggered asset freezes and seizures exceeding £1 billion ($1.3 billion).
London properties frozen, infrastructure dismantled
Several London properties will be frozen under the new measures, adding to previously seized UK assets. Those earlier seizures included a £100 million ($133 million) office building, two multi-million-pound mansions, and a helicopter. Officials say the latest action will immediately restrict access to financial channels used by the network.
“Our sanctions today send a clear message: We will not allow British people to become victims of these dreadful scams or tolerate the awful human rights abuses perpetrated in these scam centres,” said Stephen Doughty MP, the UK’s Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories, in the official government announcement.
The UK said its goal is to sever Xinbi from the legitimate crypto ecosystem entirely — cutting off its ability to process transactions and eroding the financial backbone that enables scam networks to recruit, sustain, and conceal their operations.
Broader crackdown on crypto-enabled trafficking
The action comes amid rising global alarm about crypto’s role in financing human trafficking and forced labor. A February 2026 Chainalysis report found that crypto flows to suspected trafficking services surged 85% in 2025, with stablecoin-heavy, Telegram-linked networks operating across Southeast Asia at increasing scale. Just six days before the Xinbi sanctions, the FBI and Thai police froze $580 million in crypto linked to organized scam gangs targeting Americans.
The UK’s move is part of what officials describe as a broader strategy targeting not just individual perpetrators but the infrastructure that underpins global fraud. Authorities said the Xinbi sanctions will feed into the UK’s Illicit Finance Summit in June, where they plan to accelerate international coordination to counter the laundering and movement of illicit funds across borders.
As reported by The Block, the sanctions took immediate effect on March 26.
The total Bitcoin (BTC) supply in profit stands at 60.6% on Thursday, continuing to move within a range historically associated with market cycle resets. The metric previously dropped to 50.8% on Feb. 5, its lowest level since January 2, 2023, leaving a large share of holders at breakeven or at a loss.
Similar conditions in the past cycles have preceded strong upside moves. In January 2023, BTC traded at $16,682 when profitability levels were comparable at 51%, before rallying 655% to $126,000 in 2025.
A similar setup occurred in March 2020, when the total supply in profit fell below 50% as BTC traded at $6,500, ahead of a move to $69,000 in 2021.
Bitcoin profitability returns to prior market cycle base levels
Over the past five years, the 50–60% profitability range has repeatedly marked periods where a large portion of holders sat near the BTC cost basis. That compresses unrealized gains across the network and reduces the incentive to sell into weakness.
It is important to note that the metric does not pinpoint a price bottom. It outlines a zone where long-term accumulation has led to high returns while the downside sell pressure has eased.
In past cycles, Bitcoin price bottoms were formed when the long-term holder net unrealized profit/loss (LTH-NUPL) turned negative, as seen during the 2015, 2018, and 2022 bear markets. This phase marked a period where the long-term investors were holding at a loss.
However, the current LTH-NUPL reading is near 0.40, which means that the long-term holders are still comfortably in profit, even as the overall supply profitability has dropped near market cycle lows.
This gap highlights a shift in the market environment. A growing share of Bitcoin supply is now held by corporate entities and spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which collectively control close to 15.8% of the circulating supply, i.e., 3,319,677 BTC.
These participants typically operate with a longer holding period and lower sensitivity to short-term price swings.
As a result, the profitability compression across the BTC market does not translate into the same level of forced selling from long-term holders seen in previous cycles in 2015, 2018, and 2022.
This change helps explain why the total supply in profit may revisit historical accumulation zones while the long-term holder profitability stays elevated.
Related: Bitcoin in ‘later stages’ of bear market: Watch these BTC price levels
BTC exchange flows align with valuation models
The short-term holder BTC flows to Binance fell to 25,000 BTC on March 25. Crypto analyst Darkfost said it is a new market low, down from roughly 100,000 BTC during the early February sell-off. This decline shows a clear reduction in reactive selling from the newer market participants.
Meanwhile, crypto analyst GugaOnChain noted that the valuation models can help identify where the deeper market stress may emerge for BTC. Metrics such as market-value to realized-value (MVRV) below 1, NUPL under -0.2, and a Puell Multiple near 0.35 have historically appeared during periods of heavy retail pressure and undervalued conditions.
While these indicators do not predict the exact market bottoms, they highlight zones where downside risk has historically been limited relative to long-term upside, offering a clearer view of overall market positioning.
Related: Bitcoin dips 3% as analysis says $70K BTC price ‘not obviously bearish’
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.
Tether has launched XAU₮ on BNB Chain and Binance, extending its 60% share of a $4b tokenized gold market across 12+ networks via the USDt0 cross-chain system.
Summary
- Tether’s gold-backed token XAU₮ is now live on BNB Chain, bringing the product to the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange ecosystem and expanding its cross-chain reach to over 12 blockchains via the USDt0 network.
- The gold-backed stablecoin market grew from roughly $1.3 billion to over $4 billion in 2025, with XAU₮ commanding approximately 60% of total supply.
- Binance simultaneously listed XAUt on March 26, offering spot trading, 1–50x USDT perpetual contracts, VIP borrowing, and one-click purchases via card and mobile pay.
Tether on March 26 announced that Tether Gold (XAU₮) is now live on BNB Chain, placing the dominant tokenized gold product directly into the ecosystem of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and its hundreds of millions of users. Each XAU₮ token represents one fine troy ounce of physical gold — London Good Delivery standard — held in Swiss vaults and independently attested on a 1:1 basis.
The launch is timed to a market that has moved sharply in tokenized gold’s favor. Gold surged 64% in 2025 — its largest annual gain in 40 years — setting more than 50 all-time highs as geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainty pushed investors toward safe-haven assets. The gold-backed stablecoin market nearly tripled over the same period, climbing from roughly $1.3 billion to over $4 billion, with XAU₮ holding approximately 60% of total supply.
The BNB Chain deployment is backed by Tether’s USDt0 cross-chain network, which gives XAU₮ unified liquidity across more than 12 blockchains. The architecture is designed to improve the efficiency of issuance, transfer, and settlement, and eliminates the need for users to navigate traditional custody logistics, counterparty premiums, or settlement delays associated with physical gold markets.
What Tether and BNB Chain executives said
“With XAU₮, we are not changing what gold is; we are making it usable in a modern financial system,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, in the official announcement. “You still have direct exposure to physical gold, but now it can move instantly, settle globally, and integrate seamlessly with digital markets. Listing on BNB Chain expands that access to hundreds of millions of users, bringing gold into a system where it can actually be used, not just held.”
Nina Rong, Executive Director of Growth at BNB Chain, added: “XAU₮ on BNB Chain extends what is already the second-largest RWA ecosystem by TVL. It gives users a trusted, gold-backed asset they can use across DeFi without friction.”
BNB Chain doubles down on real-world assets
The Tether Gold deployment deepens BNB Chain’s position in tokenized real-world assets. As reported in a previous crypto.news story, the network’s RWA value surged 555% year over year in Q4 2024, making it the second-largest RWA blockchain behind Ethereum. The addition of XAU₮ — already the largest gold-backed token by market cap — reinforces that trajectory as institutions accelerate tokenized commodity adoption.
XAU₮ is issued by TG Commodities, S.A. de C.V., a registered Digital Asset Service Provider under El Salvador’s Digital Asset Issuance Law. Reserve details and vault attestation reports are publicly accessible at gold.tether.to. Binance also listed XAUt on March 26 with perpetual futures, leveraged trading pairs, and principal-protected yield products — though the launch was briefly delayed from 21:30 to 22:00 UTC+8.
The move follows Tether’s January launch of Scudo, a fractional unit for XAU₮ equal to one-thousandth of a troy ounce, detailed in a previous crypto.news story, which was aimed at making tokenized gold viable for payments and everyday on-chain use.
TLDR
- BlackRock has integrated Chronicle’s Proof of Asset system for its tokenized BUIDL fund.
- The system provides independently verified holdings-level data through an onchain dashboard.
- The tokenized BUIDL fund manages about $1.7 billion in U.S. Treasuries, repos, and cash.
- Securitize issues and manage the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund onchain.
- Chronicle sources data directly from custodians and administrators to verify asset composition.
BlackRock has integrated Chronicle as a verification provider for its tokenized BUIDL fund. The firm will use Chronicle’s Proof of Asset system to publish independently verified holdings data. The update strengthens transparency for the $1.7 billion onchain U.S. Treasuries vehicle.
BlackRock and Tokenized BUIDL Add Independent Asset Verification
BlackRock confirmed that its BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund will use Chronicle’s Proof of Asset system. The system delivers independently verified holdings-level data for the tokenized BUIDL fund. It continuously attests to asset availability, freshness, and integrity through the Chronicle dashboard.
Securitize issues and manages the tokenized BUIDL fund onchain. Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, said, “Tokenization becomes meaningful when investors and protocols can independently verify what’s actually backing the product.” He added that Chronicle’s support shows tokenized funds are evolving into transparent, data-driven instruments for institutions and global markets.
Chronicle Protocol built Proof of Asset as an institutional-grade oracle layer. The system sources data directly from custodians and fund administrators. It then publishes attestations covering valuation, composition, custody, and asset existence.
Niklas Kunkel, founder of Chronicle, described the product as an “integrity layer” for tokenized finance. He said the tool delivers granular data for asset managers, allocators, and risk teams. He stated, “We’re building a layer that didn’t exist until now.”
Robert Mitchnik, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, addressed the integration. He said the system gives platforms and allocators greater visibility into tokenized asset evaluation and usage. He explained that institutions require deeper verification standards for digital products.
Chronicle Expands Data Infrastructure Across Tokenized Funds
Chronicle reported that Proof of Asset secures about $5 billion in total value. The system supports funds, including the Janus Henderson Anemoy Treasury Fund (JTRSY). It also covers Superstate’s Short Duration US Government Securities Fund (USTB).
Securitize has also implemented Chronicle’s system for its Tokenized AAA CLO Fund (STAC). Chronicle said Proof of Asset differs from price or NAV relays because it verifies underlying holdings data. Kunkel stated that the infrastructure introduces a new verification standard for tokenized funds.
The tokenized BUIDL fund currently holds about $1.7 billion in assets. The portfolio includes U.S. Treasuries, overnight repurchase agreements, and cash. BlackRock manages the fund as the largest onchain Treasuries investment vehicle.
The announcement follows recent efforts to publish off-chain financial data on blockchain networks. Coinbase recently said it would push order book, equities, and futures data onchain through ChainLink’s DataLink tool. Firms such as S&P Global and FTSE Russell have also moved to provide market data directly onchain.
Crypto World
Stragegy’s (MSTR) STRC shares rebound to par value faster than historical average to enable more BTC buying
Stretch (STRC), the perpetual preferred equity issued by Strategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin, reclaimed its $100 par value during Thursday’s trading session, giving the company the leeway to raise funds to add to its stash of the largest cryptocurrency.
The recovery took nine trading days following the March 13 ex-dividend date, when buyers of the stock no longer qualify for the next payout. Prices of ex-dividend stocks typically drop to reflect the cash being distributed to the previous shareholders.
At its core, STRC works by adjusting yield to steer price. If shares trade above $100, the company can trim the dividend to cool demand. If shares fall below that level, it can raise dividends to attract buyers. Keeping the price anchored lets the firm issue new shares near par, bringing in capital that is then deployed to buy bitcoin.
The return to par, this time, was slightly faster than the historical average of around 10 trading days for STRC, according to STRC.live.
STRC functions as a short-duration, high-yield credit instrument, offering an 11.5% annual dividend paid monthly. This structure helps incentivise trading near its $100 par value, enabling the company to utilise at-the-market (ATM) share issuance to raise capital for additional bitcoin acquisitions.
In comparison, SATA, the equivalent tool issued by bitcoin treasury company Strive (ASST), offers a higher 12.75% dividend. Currently priced at $99.25, it is also approaching par value.
Strategy bought 1,031 bitcoin last week for a total cost of $76.6 million, or $74,326 per coin. However, the magnitude of that buy was far lower than that of recent acquisitions, and STRC wasn’t at par during last week’s bitcoin purchase.
The firm’s holdings now stand at 762,099 bitcoin, bought for approximately $57.69 billion, at an average price of $75,694 per bitcoin.
Read more: Michael Saylor’s Strategy dominates DAT bitcoin buying as treasury demand collapses
Bitcoin’s (BTC) consolidation continued into Thursday as bulls struggled to keep hold of $70,000, and competing narratives on BTC’s market structure versus its increasing institutional adoption clashed with the bearish overarching factors negatively impacting US equity markets.
Citing Bernstein’s $150,000 by the end of 2026 price estimate, Bloomberg analysts said that data shows institutional investors returning to the Bitcoin markets in droves, reinforcing the view that BTC had “reached a floor.”
In early March, a week-long stretch of inflows to the spot Bitcoin ETFs nearly topped $1 billion, while Strategy purchased 22,237 BTC for $1.6 billion through its new perpetual preferred equity, Stretch (STRC). In addition to the success of STRC, Strategy also unveiled plans to raise capital to buy $44.1 billion in additional Bitcoin.
Further proof of institutions stepping back into the crypto market came from $10 trillion asset manager Morgan Stanley filing documents to launch its own spot Bitcoin ETF. Morgan Stanley recommends investors maintain a 2% to 4% allocation to cryptocurrencies, and on March 26, a proposed Labor Department rule, which would permit brokerages that manage and offer services in the $10 trillion 401(k) retirement plan market to invest in Bitcoin, progressed through the White House’s regulatory review process.
On Thursday, Coinbase also launched token-backed down payments for Fannie Mae loans, essentially permitting Bitcoin holders to use BTC and USDC to fund home mortgages. The offering allows investors holding Bitcoin to unlock the trapped liquidity of BTC without selling or generating a taxable event.
Related: US Bitcoin ETFs post 6-day inflow streak as crypto rallies
How important is Bitcoin’s $70,000 support?
While institutional investors’ renewed interest in buying Bitcoin has clearly returned, BTC’s price volatility and its inability to break out of a near 6-month price downtrend remain clear hurdles. The ongoing US-Israel and Iran war, along with President Trump’s threat to send ground troops to Iran continues to negatively impact stock markets and cryptocurrencies.
On Thursday, in a Truth Social post, President Trump said Iran’s negotiators had “better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!” The clear buildup of US military assets deployed to the Middle East has markets worried that a ground operation could begin as early as this weekend.
Following a series of comments from the President, US markets sold off, with the DOW shedding 400 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw 1.49% and 2.07% respective losses. On the other hand, WTI crude oil and Brent Crude rallied, with each seeing gains of over 4%.
With growing uncertainty on which direction the US-Israel and Iran war takes and the longer-term impact of record-high oil prices on US inflation and the wider economy, investors are electing to decrease their exposure to volatility.
This explains Bitcoin’s frequent re-visits to prices below $70,000 along with the short-lived nature of rallies in the $71,000 to $76,000 range. That said, one positive is that institutional and retail investors appear to view $70,000 and below as an optimal buying zone, thus reinforcing the level as support.
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.
BNB price is down, dropping by 3% in 24 hours to under $630, but the technical prediction tells a more complicated story than the red candle suggests. A pullback from the March 17 peak of $675 has rattled short-term holders, yet longer-dated moving averages are quietly trending upward.
BNB is still holding the third-largest market cap among non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies, sitting above $85 billion, ahead of XRP’s $84 billion and Solana’s $50 billion. That ranking reflects the combined weight of Binance’s centralized exchange dominance and BNB Chain’s expanding DeFi footprint.
No major protocol announcements or regulatory catalysts have emerged yet, meaning price action here is largely technical.
With consolidation tightening and April seasonality historically favorable, broader crypto market conditions could accelerate BNB’s next directional move faster than most expect.
Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with
BNB Price Prediction: Can Binance Coin Reclaim $725 This Month?
BNB opened March 26 at a $600 area, hit an intraday high of $629 a tight range, signaling indecision. However, the seven-day picture shows a decline from $645, a consolidation phase following the spike to $685 on March 16. Support appears to be building around the $620 zone and resistance clusters between $650 and $675.
The moving average picture offers the bullish counterargument. Both the 50-day and 200-day MAs are sloping upward as of March 21, a structural positive. The 4-hour frame remains bearish relative to its MAs (that’s the friction point right now), creating a classic higher-timeframe bull, lower-timeframe bear setup.
BNB’s all-time high of $1,370 in October last year remains a longer-term reference point. At $630, it’s trading at less than half that peak, which either means deep value or a structurally weakened asset, depending on your time horizon.
Discover: The best pre-launch token sales
Bitcoin Hyper Targets Early Mover Upside as BNB Tests Key Levels
BNB upside target sounds compelling, until you account for its $88 billion market cap. Large-cap altcoins face a size problem: the capital required to move the needle is enormous, and the percentage gains that defined 2024 cycles are structurally harder to replicate. That math is exactly why early-stage infrastructure plays attract traders who’ve already captured large-cap exposure.
Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is one presale drawing attention in that context. It’s positioned as the first-ever Bitcoin Layer 2 with Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) integration, targeting the three core limitations that have defined Bitcoin for years: slow transactions, high fees, and the near-absence of programmable smart contracts.
The architecture claims to deliver faster performance than Solana itself, while preserving Bitcoin’s underlying security. The project has already raised more than $32 million at a current price of $0.0136776, with staking rewards of 36% APY for early participants.
For those who’ve done the research: explore Bitcoin Hyper here.
This article is not financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are highly volatile. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
The post BNB Price Prediction: Price Drops, But Bullish Signals Flashing appeared first on Cryptonews.
Bitcoin pared earlier losses Thursday afternoon after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would extend a pause on attacks against Iran’s energy infrastructure.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the pause will now be 10 days, citing ongoing diplomatic talks.
“As per Iranian Government request… I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days,” Trump wrote, adding that the “talks are ongoing” and “they are going very well.”
The news helped stabilize markets after an ugly Thursday that saw bitcoin slide 3% and the Nasdaq 2.4%, with that tech-heavy index now lower by about 10% since peaking for the year in late January.
The surge in oil prices since the breakout of hostilities has garnered most of the headlines, but the selloff in Western bond markets is growing more troublesome.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield — below 4% just weeks ago — jumped to as high as 4.43% on Thursday, before pulling back to the current 4.41%. Alongside that sharp rise has been not just the vanishing of expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, but also serious bets that the U.S. central bank will soon hike rates.
Similar moves in bond yields and central bank expectations are taking place across Western Europe as well.
Nevertheless, the Trump comments sent bitcoin higher by about 1% from its worst levels, and it is now trading just above $69,000. Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL) and all also rebounded from session lows, though they remained 3%-5% lower over the past 24 hours.
Largest U.S. Bitcoin miner offloads roughly a quarter of its treasury to buy back $1 billion in zero-coupon notes at a 9% discount, dropping to third among corporate BTC holders.
MARA Holdings, the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner in the U.S., sold 15,133 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion between March 4 and March 25, deploying the proceeds to retire roughly $1 billion in convertible debt, the company said Thursday.
The transactions represent one of the single largest BTC liquidations by a public miner and mark a decisive break from the accumulation-first playbook MARA pursued through much of 2024 and 2025, when it raised billions through zero-coupon convertible note offerings specifically to buy more Bitcoin.
Debt Slashed by 30%
MARA entered into privately negotiated agreements with noteholders to repurchase approximately $367.5 million of its 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2030 and $633.4 million of its 2031 notes, according to a press release. It paid roughly $322.9 million and $589.9 million, respectively — an average discount of about 9% to par — capturing approximately $88 million in cash savings.
The buyback cuts MARA’s total convertible note obligations from roughly $3.3 billion to $2.3 billion, according to the company’s disclosure.
The sale follows a policy change MARA disclosed in its 10-K filing with the SEC earlier this month, formally authorizing the sale of BTC held on its balance sheet — not just newly mined coins. In the second half of 2025, the company had already begun selling a portion of production to cover rising operating costs amid post-halving margin compression.
“Our decision to sell a portion of our Bitcoin holdings reflects a strategic capital allocation move designed to strengthen our balance sheet and position the company for long-term growth,” Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel said in the announcement.
The shift is stark. Just a few months ago, MARA was among the most aggressive corporate BTC accumulators, alongside Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), using convertible debt issuances to expand its holdings to over 50,000 BTC.
Following the sale, its stash sits at 38,689 BTC, worth approximately $2.7 billion at current prices, according to BitcoinTreasuries data. The drawdown pushes MARA to third among corporate Bitcoin holders, behind Twenty One Capital, which holds 43,514 BTC. Strategy remains far ahead with more than 762,000 BTC and is still buying.
AI Pivot
Thiel framed the deleveraging as a prerequisite for MARA’s broader strategic pivot into digital energy and AI/high-performance computing infrastructure. In February, the company announced a joint venture with Starwood Capital targeting 2.5 GW of AI and HPC data center capacity, and last year agreed to acquire a 64% stake in Exaion, a high-performance computing subsidiary of French energy giant EDF.
The company said it plans to continue selling Bitcoin “from time to time” as part of its 2026 capital and liquidity strategy.
This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.
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