MarketWhisper

Jane Street Bitcoin conspiracy theories claiming coordinated market manipulation have been dismissed by Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, who states long-term holders drove Bitcoin's decline, not institutional schemes.

Bitcoin tax controversy erupted as Netherlands approved 36% levy on unrealized crypto gains, forcing investors to pay taxes on unsold Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings annually starting 2028.

Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street giant managing nearly $9 trillion in assets, is planning to offer digital asset services to clients that cover the full lifecycle of Bitcoin, including native custody, trading, lending, and yield generation. Amy Odenburg, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Morgan Stanley, stated that Bitcoin-based yield and lending services are currently "part of ongoing discussions and exploration."

MARA Holdings reported a net loss of $1.7 billion in its Q4 2025 financial report, primarily due to a $1.5 billion reduction in digital assets caused by a decline in Bitcoin prices. Despite the revenue decrease, MARA announced the formation of a joint venture with Starwood Capital Group to establish an AI data center, driving the stock price up more than 15% after hours. This move indicates the company's transition from a Bitcoin miner to a comprehensive energy and digital infrastructure company.

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales expressed skepticism about Bitcoin's long-term prospects, believing that while its technology is robust, it has fundamental limitations as a currency. He predicted that by 2050, the price could fall below ten thousand dollars. He pointed out that the challenges facing Bitcoin include difficulty of use, extremely high volatility, and low acceptance, and he believes its store of value capability is inferior to traditional assets like gold.

MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor announced that the company will replace the strategy of directly holding Bitcoin with perpetual preferred stock STRC, shifting focus to digital credit to reduce risk and stabilize returns. STRC will serve as the primary Bitcoin acquisition tool, with analysts predicting its potential value to rise to $705, representing a 430% growth potential.

Swyftx Chief Analyst Hundal pointed out that Ethereum (ETH) prices have priced in most short-term risks and are expected to consolidate sideways in the future. Despite recent market sentiment being subdued, institutions like BitMine are still actively increasing their ETH holdings, indicating structural disagreements in the market. Consumer confidence remains a key factor, and there is still uncertainty in the short term.

Bitcoin miner TeraWulf forecasts revenue of $168.5 million in 2025, a 20.3% increase year-over-year, but net losses widen to $661.4 million. The company is shifting its transformation focus to high-performance computing leasing business and plans to expand to a multi-region platform of 2.9 GW to meet AI computing demands, seeking stable cash flow.

MetaMask and Mastercard collaborate to launch a payment card program, offering virtual and metal physical cards, designed specifically for residents in the United States, especially New York residents. This card allows users to manage assets in their self-custody wallets and pay fiat currency via Mastercard, with the first purchase earning 3% cashback. Users can earn on-chain points through spending, transfers, and transactions to redeem benefits. This move demonstrates a focus on compliance and competitiveness in the payments sector.

Starknet launches the first exchangeable wrapped Bitcoin asset, strkBTC, featuring a trust-minimized on-chain issuance mechanism and optional privacy features. Users can choose to hide transaction amounts and counterparty information, while maintaining compliance through viewing keys. The design of strkBTC aims to promote Bitcoin's application in DeFi, addressing the limitations of traditional transparency and better protecting user privacy.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has selected four institutions, including Revolut, to participate in the stablecoin sandbox, which will launch in 2026. This testing will help ensure the credibility of stablecoins in payments and transactions. Revolut is focused on the GBP stablecoin, aiming to strengthen its position in the UK market. Traditional banks, due to policy restrictions, have less motivation to enter the stablecoin market. This sandbox provides empirical data to inform the development of final regulatory rules.

On-chain detective ZachXBT's investigation report reveals that several employees at the cryptocurrency platform Axiom used internal tools for insider trading, illegally profiting $200,000. The key figure, Broox Bauer, tracked user wallets and transactions to coordinate trades with accomplices. Axiom has revoked access to the relevant tools and initiated an investigation. This incident has sparked widespread discussion about user data security and internal compliance issues.

Silicon Valley investor Chamath Palihapitiya shares 30 years of life insights, emphasizing the importance of learning and risk-taking. He warns young people to avoid debt, vanity-driven career goals, and the pursuit of status, and recommends making proactive life choices such as socializing with young people, working in thriving areas, building honest relationships, and pursuing flow states to maintain continuous growth and vitality.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on stablecoin yields to discuss the impact of the GENIUS Act. The bill prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest but does not restrict platform rewards, raising concerns about potential bank deposit outflows. Banking industry representatives pointed out the potential risk of deposit outflows, while supporters argued that there is no substantial evidence. Regulatory agencies emphasized that there have been no signs of large-scale deposit outflows at present and plan to enhance regulation of digital assets.

MicroStrategy recently increased its Bitcoin holdings by approximately $40 million, acquiring 592 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 717,722 BTC, but this did not boost its stock price. The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) indicator is approaching zero, indicating that institutional funds are not following suit with purchases. Technical analysis shows that the stock price is facing downward pressure, forming a bear flag pattern, and suggests a possible decline to $70. Institutional investors' confidence in the company's stock has weakened, affecting the likelihood of a price rebound.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused the U.S. Department of Defense's ultimatum in 2026, prohibiting Claude AI from being used for military purposes, as it crossed the red line of autonomous weapons and surveillance. This incident highlights the potential threats of the Defense Production Act, which could impact the technology and cryptocurrency industries. Anthropic faces the risk of losing military contracts, and the broader supply chain exclusion could have more far-reaching effects, testing the resilience of decentralized architectures.

The UK will shut down investment channels for cryptocurrencies within Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) in April 2026, as Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reclassifies crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) as ineligible securities. This change affects investors' tax advantages, making capital gains taxation necessary, and may drive some investors to offshore platforms. The ban has sparked debates over investor protection and market competitiveness.

Citigroup Digital Asset Custody Head Nisha Surendran announced that the company plans to officially integrate Bitcoin services for institutional clients by 2026, with the core message being "making Bitcoin an asset that banks can trade." This global financial giant, managing over $30 trillion in traditional assets, plans to provide Bitcoin with infrastructure equivalent to stocks and bonds within its existing institutional service framework to meet the continuously growing institutional demand.

On February 26, XRP came under pressure due to strong US employment data, with the price dropping from $1.4454 to $1.3862 and closing at $1.4027, a daily decline of 2.16%. Despite the market sentiment being pressured, XRP spot ETFs continued to attract funds, with an average net inflow of $70.26 million at the beginning of the year. If XRP's utility and ETF capital inflows persist, there is potential for the price to decouple. Short-term support is at $1, with a medium-term target of $2.

Pi Network (PI) tokens recently rebounded to $0.1700, with a monthly increase of over 31%, and have formed a bullish flag pattern, with the price above major technical indicators. The three main catalysts include the upcoming Stellar protocol upgrade, continuous whale accumulation, and potential CEX listing, which could further drive the price higher. Investors should pay attention to changes in trading volume to assess the reliability of the breakout.