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The U.S. Federal Reserve may want to remain silent this week but will be forced to signal its future policy direction through its economic projections, according to Nick Timiraos, a Wall Street Journal reporter often described as the Fed whisperer. In a post on X, Timiraos noted that two former Fed chairs would want to avoid offering short-term rate cut forecasts in the current environment. He added that the key question for the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is whether current officials share that view, suggesting a potential clash between hawkish and dovish members sticking to their respective positions. The U.S. interest rate decision and the FOMC press conference are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. UTC on March 18.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed an amendment to exclude cryptocurrencies from the scope of its rule for broker-dealers on posting over-the-counter (OTC) quotes, Cointelegraph reported via X. The regulation, Rule 15c2-11, requires broker-dealers to review an issuer's publicly available materials, such as financial and basic information, before posting quotes for certain securities in the OTC market.

The Altcoin Season Index from crypto data platform CoinMarketCap is currently at 49, down one point from the previous day. The index is calculated by comparing the price performance of the top 100 coins by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped coins, against Bitcoin. An "altcoin season" is declared when 75% of these top 100 coins outperform Bitcoin over the preceding 90 days. If the opposite is true, it is considered a "Bitcoin season." The closer the index is to 100, the stronger the indication of an altcoin season.

South Korean e-payment company KG Inicis has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a digital asset payment partnership with global cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com to build a payment system, Edaily reported. Through the agreement, the two companies will establish a digital asset payment system for foreign tourists visiting South Korea.

A woman in the United Kingdom is being sued for allegedly stealing 2,323 BTC, worth $172 million, from her estranged husband by filming his hardware wallet's mnemonic phrase with a home CCTV camera, Decrypt reported, citing UK High Court filings. According to the lawsuit, the husband, Ping Fai Yuen, stored over 2,323 BTC in a hardware wallet in 2023. He claims that in August of that year, the funds were transferred to 71 different addresses without his knowledge. After being warned by his daughter that his wife was targeting his Bitcoin, the husband installed a recording device in their home. He reportedly obtained evidence of his wife, Fun Yung Li, using the mnemonic phrase she had captured on camera. The husband was initially arrested for assaulting his wife after discovering the theft but later reported her for the crime. Police arrested the wife and seized 10 cold wallets but released her on bail, citing a lack of evidence. The husband filed a lawsuit in November of last year demanding the return of his Bitcoin. While the trial has not yet begun, the UK court reportedly believes the husband has a high probability of winning the case.

Coinbase announced the addition of PRL to its listing roadmap.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $75,000. BTC is trading at $75,026.75 on the Binance USDT market.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index from data provider Alternative rose five points from yesterday to 28. The move lifts the index out of the "Extreme Fear" category for the first time in 46 days, a stage it first entered on Jan. 30. The index measures market sentiment on a scale from 0 (Extreme Fear) to 100 (Extreme Optimism). The index is calculated based on several factors: volatility (25%), trading volume (25%), social media mentions (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin's market cap dominance (10%), and Google search volume (10%).

YZi Labs, formerly Binance Labs, announced it has led a $52 million funding round for AI robotics company RoboForce. The funds will be used to advance RoboForce's robot foundation model and expand its manufacturing capabilities. RoboForce develops robot software for industrial applications and is a partner of Nvidia.

The merger review for Naver Financial, South Korea's leading simple payment provider, and Dunamu, the operator of the country's largest crypto exchange Upbit, is reportedly entering its final stages, Yonhap News reported. This speculation follows the recent news that South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has requested additional information from both companies. The FTC began its review after receiving the merger notification on Nov. 28 of last year and is expected to reach a decision as early as May, or by the first half of this year at the latest. In November, Naver Financial and Dunamu approved a comprehensive stock swap that would make Dunamu a subsidiary of Naver Financial and a grandchild company of Naver.

As IBM expands free access to its quantum computers, concerns are growing that advancements in quantum technology could pose a threat to the cryptocurrency industry, Decrypt reported. IBM recently announced an update to its IBM Quantum Open Plan, a free cloud platform that allows anyone to conduct experiments on its quantum devices. The update increases runtime limits and provides access to more powerful processors. The company has also opened access to its Heron R2 processor, an upgraded quantum system capable of performing a vast number of quantum operations quickly while maintaining a relatively low error rate. Meanwhile, as major corporations like IBM continue to invest in quantum computing, blockchain researchers are increasingly warning about its risks. Bitcoin developers have recently advanced discussions on BIP-360, a proposal to address quantum vulnerabilities, but a substantial review has not yet taken place.

Prediction market platform Kalshi has announced a contest to predict the results of the U.S. college basketball tournament with a $1 billion grand prize. Anyone who correctly predicts the outcome of every game in the tournament will win $1 billion. If no perfect bracket is submitted, the user with the highest score on the leaderboard will receive $1 million. Separately, the company will donate an additional $1 million to charities and for scholarships. The contest is free to enter for any U.S. resident aged 18 or older, excluding those in New York and Florida.

OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer announced via X that the launch of the platform's native token, SEA, has been postponed. The token was previously scheduled for release in the first quarter of this year. Finzer cited difficult conditions across the cryptocurrency market for the delay, explaining that since a token launch is a one-time opportunity, the team chose to enhance the product's completeness rather than adhere to the original timeline. In line with the postponement, OpenSea is ending its Reward Wave program and will refund platform fees incurred during the third through sixth reward payment periods. Further details on the refund process will be announced at a later date. Additionally, the platform will reduce trading fees to 0% for two months, starting March 31. Finzer added that the initial launch date was announced prematurely and that future decisions and announcements will be made more cautiously. He noted that while the launch event is delayed, a separate event focused on product updates will be held in the coming months.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing a proposal to eliminate the quarterly reporting requirement for companies, The Wall Street Journal reported. Under the plan, which could be announced as early as April, companies would report semi-annually instead.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed higher today. - S&P 500: +1.01% - Nasdaq: +1.22% - Dow Jones: +0.83%

On-chain analytics firm Santiment noted in a post on X that the price of the TRUMP token has surged 36% since March 11. Simultaneously, the number of wallets holding over one million TRUMP tokens has risen to 83, a five-month high. The firm questioned whether this was a coincidence, suggesting it was likely not. According to the official Trump memecoin website, a conference for TRUMP holders is scheduled for April 25 in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. Participation is limited to 297 people and will be determined by the ranking of TRUMP token holdings.

As Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin with a 10.73% gain over 24 hours compared to BTC's 3.47%, analysts suggest that investors who drove early-year inflows into Bitcoin are now rotating their capital into ETH. According to CoinDesk, Joel Kruger, an analyst at fintech firm LMAX Group, said Ethereum's relative strength indicates a potential capital shift, which could be linked to network developments and the rising value of non-Bitcoin assets. Adam Saville Brown, head of sales at Tesseract Group, called Ethereum's performance noteworthy, pointing to its break above $2,200 after weeks of sluggishness. He interpreted this move as a sign of expanding risk appetite, generally a positive signal. However, Brown cautioned that the rally is sensitive to macroeconomic indicators. He explained that if Fed Chair Powell remains cautious on inflation, the altcoin rally could reverse faster than Bitcoin's. Brown added that while the market floor seems solid, breaking through the current resistance would require more than just a freeze in interest rates.

Evidence has emerged that Argentine President Javier Milei agreed to a $5 million contract to promote the memecoin Libra (LIBRA), BeInCrypto reported, citing local media. The contract stipulated that Milei would publicly endorse the digital asset on social media in exchange for the payment. Argentine authorities discovered the document during a digital forensic investigation as part of an ongoing probe. They are now investigating whether the promotion influenced the token's price surge following its launch.

Bitcoin buying pressure is reviving and gradually improving market sentiment, according to an analysis by Glassnode. The firm noted that the BTC Spot Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) has turned positive, indicating a return of active buying. However, overall spot trading volume remains low, suggesting that market participation is still limited. In the derivatives market, participation is increasing, but a cautious atmosphere persists. Futures open interest has seen a slight increase, while the futures CVD has risen significantly. Most notably, the ETF market is seeing a renewed increase in institutional capital inflows. "Net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have grown considerably, signaling a revival in institutional investor demand," Glassnode explained. The firm added that capital flows and investor positioning are also gradually improving. While the change in Realized Cap remains negative, it is approaching a neutral level, which has eased capital outflow pressure. "Overall, the market is showing a modest recovery trend," Glassnode stated. "Momentum and spot buying pressure are strengthening, and ETF inflows are continuing. However, with on-chain activity still low and derivatives traders maintaining a cautious stance, overall market sentiment has not yet fully stabilized."

Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng has refuted reports that the exchange violated sanctions against Iran and fired an internal investigator who discovered Iran-linked transactions, calling the claims entirely untrue. In a post on X, he explained that no employee has ever been fired for raising compliance issues and that Binance has not violated U.S. or international sanctions. Regarding the Iran-related transactions, Teng said there were three unverified wallets between a Binance wallet and the final receiving wallet. He added that after an internal investigation, Binance blocked the relevant accounts and reported the matter to law enforcement, emphasizing that no funds flowed directly from a Binance wallet to any sanctioned or Iran-related entity. Binance previously announced its intention to take legal action against the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) for defamation over its reporting on the matter.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $74,000. BTC is trading at $74,042.84 on the Binance USDT market.

Global payment platform i-payout has announced a partnership with Ripple Payments, Ripple's payment platform, to enhance its services. By integrating Ripple Payments, i-payout will leverage crypto infrastructure to accelerate payment speeds and support large-scale cross-border transactions.

The U.S. Secret Service (USS) is launching a joint operation with the UK and Canada to combat cryptocurrency fraud, Decrypt reported. The initiative, dubbed Operation Atlantic, involves collaboration between the USS and law enforcement agencies in the UK and Canada to eradicate pig butchering scams.

A congressional roundtable on cryptocurrency taxes has been postponed again due to flight disruptions in the United States caused by severe storms and tornado warnings, according to Eleanor Terrett, host of "Crypto in America." Two members of the U.S. Congress hosting the meeting were affected by flight delays, forcing the event to be rescheduled.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has been in contact with U.S. officials, according to Walter Bloomberg.