Gate Insights and Crypto Market Analysis

According to data from independent market research firm Vanda, the total trading volume of retail investors in the US stock and ETF markets is projected to reach $5.4 trillion in 2025, an increase of approximately 47% year-over-year, the highest record since 2014. The data also shows that retail investors' overall portfolio performance has outperformed the major index ETFs SPY and QQQ during the same period, which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices respectively.

MicroStrategy (MSTR), the world's largest Bitcoin institutional holder, CEO Michael Saylor recently publicly refuted the quantum computing threat theory, stating that the cybersecurity community generally believes that credible quantum attack capabilities will take at least another ten years to emerge. He emphasized that once the threat materializes, global digital infrastructure will upgrade collaboratively to respond, and the cryptocurrency community will play a leading role.

Written by: Will A-Wang Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked. — Warren Buffett Obviously, this quote is very convincing in the market of early 2026. When the crypto industry has deviated from the original ideals of crypto-punk, and crypto assets like Bitcoin have lost their narrative of "price appreciation," with institutional dominance replacing idealism; when token design has lost its clear identity as a trusted store of value and incentive alignment, founders are stopping to replicate the old scripts of token issuance and are instead designing for real users and long-term alignment. What we need to consider now is: after the wave, what has surfaced? A16z's Chris Dixon, an advocate of Web3 value ownership, states: We have obviously entered the era of blockchain finance, whose core concept is: blockchain introduces a new fundamental element:

Hanwha Asset Management appoints Vice President Lim Dong-jun as Head of the Strategic Business Unit, aiming to enhance the competitiveness of alternative investment business and promote strategic growth in risk management and long-term profitability. His successful experience in global investments will facilitate the company's steady development in an ever-changing financial environment and support the modernization of the Korean capital market.

In the past seven Ramadan periods, Bitcoin has followed a recurring structural pattern in six cases: "early sharp rise followed by late-stage volatility and weakening," creating a strong seasonal expectation in the market. However, the start of 2026 has gone against this trend—opening with a decline rather than a rally, disrupting the sequence and throwing off the rhythm. On-chain data indicates potential rebound signals, but demand remains subdued. The trajectory of this Ramadan may not be as clear-cut as historical expectations suggest.

The market is currently extremely greedy, with Bitcoin reaching $63,559, and recent capital outflows from BTC and ETH. The Central Bank of Brazil plans to advance VASP regulation, while the Bank of Korea requires restrictions on stablecoin issuance. The US SEC adjusts net capital calculations for stablecoins, and Kraken acquires Magna to oversee the entire token lifecycle. Market capital inflows are at odds with the crypto industry, but Tether is actively investing in real estate and gold.

Bitcoin (BTC) continues its decline from the beginning of the week, currently around $63,500 as of February 24. The Ethereum Foundation has established a DeFi team to promote the development of the "DeFipunk" protocol. Jane Street was sued by Terraform Liquidation Party, accused of using insider trading to accelerate the crash.

Australian police have charged a 42-year-old man in connection with a crypto investment scam, defrauding over 190 vulnerable seniors of AUD 5 million. The suspect will appear in court on March 17, with another 36-year-old also under investigation.

Standard Chartered's latest report reveals that stablecoin issuers are rapidly increasing their demand for U.S. short-term government bonds. It is projected that by the end of 2028, this new demand will reach 1 trillion dollars. Including the Federal Reserve's bond purchase program, the total demand for short-term government bonds could surpass 2.2 trillion dollars. This structural shift may force the U.S. Treasury to reallocate its debt portfolio or even suspend 30-year bond auctions for up to three years.

Written by: Prathik Desai Translated by: Block unicorn Introduction Happy Year of the Horse everyone. Last week, two highly watched emerging financial companies released their earnings reports within 48 hours. Both companies' revenues fell short of expectations. These two companies were immediately placed into the same narrative framework: the cryptocurrency market is sluggish, trading volume is weak, and the good days are over. But this perspective completely misses the point. The stock price movements of Coinbase and Robinhood may be closely related to the price of Bitcoin (BTC), but their future trajectories are not determined by BTC's performance in the fourth quarter. They are gradually moving away from the narrow definition that "company fate is closely tied to the crypto cycle." Both companies are undergoing significant transformations—if you know where to look,

AEON Community's AEON Pay partners with USA₮ to enable seamless crypto payments for over 50 million merchants globally. This integration enhances daily usage of the compliant digital dollar, aiming for broader adoption in Africa and Latin America while ensuring ease of transactions.

On February 23, the stablecoin USD1 under the DeFi project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), associated with the Trump family, temporarily lost its dollar peg, dropping to a low of 0.994 USD before quickly rebounding. WLFI characterized the incident as a hacker-led "coordinated attack," but rumors of Eric Trump deleting posts and an undisclosed insider trading investigation suggest that this storm is far from over.

Bitcoin has recently experienced a clear decline, with the market facing two simultaneous pressures. Major miner Bitdeer has liquidated over 2,000 coins in eight weeks, strategically shifting to an immediate sell-off mode; the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump's tariffs were illegal, and a new wave of national security tariff issues has emerged, causing global risk assets to panic sell. Technical indicators have also worsened, with Bitcoin breaking below the triangle support, with short-term targets directly pointing to the critical $64,000 defense line.

AI stewards are quickly becoming a key concept in decentralized governance, especially in the Ethereum community and the wider Web3 world. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin first shared this concept in February 2026, describing how personal AI agents could help people participate in governance

Spot Bitcoin ETFs are on track for a fourth consecutive month of net outflows as BTC approaches another negative monthly close in February, underscoring a demand lull for regulated, spot-linked exposure. Data through mid-February show ETF holdings ebbing from a peak in late 2025, with total assets s

Anseropic accuses multiple Chinese AI companies of illegally collecting data for its Claude chatbot, involving infringement through fake accounts and大量对话记录, pointing out that this "distillation" technology violates its terms of service. Anseropic claims that this behavior threatens national security and calls for government intervention, but it itself faces multiple lawsuits over data collection, appearing somewhat "hypocritical."

Stablecoin issuing organizations are forecasted to become one of the largest buyers of U.S. Treasury bills in the next few years, potentially reshaping how the U.S. government funds its budget deficit. This insight is presented in Standard Chartered's latest research report. The research team

Bitmine has purchased an additional 51,162 ETH, increasing its total holdings to 4.42 million ETH, representing 3.66% of the total supply. Valued at nearly $8.7 billion, Bitmine is the largest ETH holder globally and aims to possess 5% of the total supply. The company also generates staking revenue from a significant portion of its ETH holdings.

New Frontier Labs has joined forces with Bitgo Bank & Trust National Association to issue and custody the FYUSD stablecoin, a dollar-pegged token aimed at institutional buyers in Asia. The arrangement positions FYUSD as a regulated, cross-border instrument designed to meet U.S.-style standards