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The premium on Bitcoin CME futures has narrowed, but the market has not yet entered backwardation—a state where futures prices fall below spot prices, a phenomenon seen at previous market bottoms. According to CryptoQuant, CME futures with longer maturities continue to maintain a higher price than the spot market. However, the price difference across maturities is small, resulting in a relatively flat curve. During the market bottoms of 2018 and 2022, futures prices were lower than spot, and the basis for long-term contracts fell even further. The current data suggests the market has not yet entered a capitulation phase.

Legal and academic experts in South Korea have expressed pessimistic views that proposed ownership caps for virtual asset exchanges and stablecoins could lead to industrial decline and legal disputes, Money Today reported. The concerns were raised ahead of the enactment of a Digital Asset Basic Act. At a policy debate on Feb. 26 hosted by lawmakers Kim Sang-hoon and Min Byoung-dug, attorney Jeong Jae-wook of Joowon Law Firm argued that it is strange to apply regulations designed for the Korea Exchange to crypto exchanges, which do not have member securities firms. He stated that if the regulations are implemented, it could become difficult for the private sector to venture into new business areas. Concerns also emerged regarding the financial authorities' plan to restrict the issuance of won-denominated stablecoins to consortiums in which a bank holds a majority stake of 50% plus one share. Lee Jong-seop, a professor at Seoul National University's College of Business Administration, said there is no economic correlation between a stablecoin's ownership structure and its ability to prevent mass withdrawals. He noted that while a bank's majority ownership is a rational choice for authorities as it ensures supervisory convenience, the discussion on a stablecoin's trust mechanism should be market-driven.

Neo (NEO) co-founder Da Hongfei said the project has been in discussions with three major stablecoin issuers since January. He added that all three have expressed their intention to integrate with Neo, and talks are ongoing regarding integration terms, TVL targets, and on-chain activity standards.

Telegram's The Open Network (TON) Wallet is now providing on-chain interest options for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT, The Block reported. The feature is a collaboration with Morpho, TAC, and Re7. Users can deposit their crypto assets into a newly introduced "Vault" function to earn interest.

Current and former leaders of global crypto investment firm Dragonfly are publicly disputing credit for the firm's past investment performance, Wu Blockchain reported. Alexander Pack, a co-founder of Dragonfly and now the founder of Hack VC, stated on X that he and Bo co-founded the firm. He claimed to have led successful investments in projects like Bybit, Amber Group, and Crusoe before current Managing Partner Haseeb joined, accusing Haseeb of falsely claiming to have started the VC. In response, Haseeb countered that before he joined, Dragonfly operated primarily as a fund of funds and did not lead the investments in the projects Pack mentioned.

Crypto analyst Alex Krüger has pushed back against claims that market maker Jane Street is intentionally driving down Bitcoin's price through algorithmic selling at 10 a.m. U.S. time. Krüger stated on X that an analysis of BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) data since Jan. 1 of this year does not show a consistent downward pattern. He noted that the cumulative return between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. was 0.9%, while the return between 10:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. was -1%. According to Krüger, these movements are similar to those of the Nasdaq and represent a broader price readjustment across risk assets. The analyst's comments come amid community rumors that Jane Street has been systematically suppressing the price of Bitcoin.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb announced it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Mantra (OM) beginning at 2:00 p.m. UTC on March 1. The suspension is to support the project's rebranding and token swap. The OM ticker will be changed to MANTRA, with tokens set to be swapped at a ratio of 1 OM to 4 MANTRA.

The market capitalization of tokenized stocks has surpassed $1 billion, according to decentralized finance (DeFi) analytics firm Sentora, formerly known as IntoTheBlock. Ondo Finance leads the market with $605 million, followed by xStocks with $232 million.

AllUnity, a joint venture established by Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS, crypto market maker Flow, and Galaxy, has launched a Swiss franc (CHF) stablecoin, CHFAU, Cointelegraph reported. Compliant with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, CHFAU is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token. Initially, it will only be available to institutional and professional investors. The company plans to add support for other blockchains within the year. AllUnity previously launched a euro-backed stablecoin, EURAU, last year.

An anonymous trader bet $50,700 on the Solana-based trading platform Axiom in a Polymarket contract speculating on which crypto firm will be the subject of an exposé by on-chain analyst ZachXBT, Lookonchain reported. At the time of the wager, the odds for Axiom were only 15.1%. Speculation that the trader possessed inside information prompted others to follow suit. However, the initial trader closed the position within a day, securing a $39,000 profit. ZachXBT announced on Feb. 26 that he would expose insider trading at a specific crypto company. Axiom is now the leading contender in the Polymarket contract, with odds of 28%.

Swiss crypto bank Sygnum has launched Sygnum Select, an asset management service for institutional clients, Cointelegraph reported. The offering provides discretionary management services based on client agreements and includes spot trading, staking, hedging, derivatives, and tokenized securities. The service will initially be available only to clients in Switzerland, with plans for future expansion.

Bithumb announced it will delist Blocery (BLY) at 6:00 a.m. UTC on March 30.

Stablecoin inflows to exchanges remain negative, indicating a lack of demand, according to LSK senior analyst Leon Waidmann. In a post on X, he explained that this means more stablecoins are leaving exchanges than entering. Waidmann noted that major Bitcoin rallies over the past year have typically followed periods of significant stablecoin inflows. With outflows currently much larger, he argued that it will be difficult for BTC to sustain a rally until the trend reverses.

Bybit announced it will list ROBO for spot trading at 10:00 a.m. UTC on Feb. 27.

Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Sam Kessler argued on X that the collapse of Terra/Luna and the subsequent crypto market downturn were caused by the project's inherently flawed algorithm, not by the actions of Jane Street. He suggested that crypto investors on X seem to be suffering from a form of collective amnesia, stating it has already been established that insider trading was not the cause of Terra/Luna's failure. Kessler noted that while Do Kwon claimed the UST algorithm would maintain its peg, Kwon lied and is now in prison. He added that Terraform Labs and Jump Crypto artificially inflated the price of UST. While acknowledging that Jane Street could be found guilty of insider trading and may have helped trigger the collapse, he stressed that a U.S. court has already ruled on who is responsible for the crash and the resulting market contagion. He emphasized that any speculation to the contrary is not at all serious. His comments come amid recent controversy in multiple online communities alleging that investment banks like Jane Street, acting as authorized participants (APs), manipulated BTC prices through algorithmic selling at specific times. Terraform Labs has sued Jane Street, accusing the firm of using inside information to profit from the 2022 collapse. These suspicions have been further fueled by community claims that the timed price drops ceased after Terraform Labs filed its lawsuit.

LBank Labs announced that cumulative trading volume for its precious metals futures has surpassed $6 billion. The top three assets by trading volume were GOLD, SILVER, and XAUT. The exchange's open interest in GOLD futures currently stands at $31.46 million, ranking first among global centralized exchanges, with a 24-hour increase of 199.69%. Open interest for SILVER/USDT reached $13.46 million, up 2.37% over the same period. LBank Labs emphasized that both the total open interest and its growth rate are among the highest globally, indicating a rapid inflow of market funds into precious metals derivatives. The firm added that amid macroeconomic uncertainty and rising demand for safe-haven assets, precious metals are becoming a key component of the crypto derivatives market. By offering these futures products, centralized exchanges are enabling precious metals to act as a bridge between the crypto market and traditional safe havens. LBank Labs expects these assets to play a significant role in providing liquidity and facilitating asset allocation within the derivatives market going forward.

Bitcoin investor and analyst Lark Davis attributed Polkadot's (DOT) surge of up to 41% yesterday to several factors, including an upcoming halving, potential spot ETF filings, and bullish technical patterns. Davis noted that Polkadot has a halving scheduled for March 14, which will reduce its annual issuance by more than 50% and transition the token to a deflationary model. He also pointed to the previously raised possibility of spot ETFs from institutions like Grayscale and 21Shares. On the technical front, Davis explained that DOT broke through its 20-day moving average and a resistance level near $1.4 on its daily chart. He added that support at the $1.23 level may have attracted trend-following buyers. Polkadot rose from $1.23 to a high of $1.74 yesterday. According to CoinMarketCap, the token is currently trading at $1.59, up 25.63% over the past 24 hours.

Axiom, a trading platform within the Solana ecosystem, has become the leading candidate to be the subject of an exposé by on-chain analyst ZachXBT. On the prediction market platform Polymarket, a contract asking which crypto company will be targeted by ZachXBT shows Axiom in the lead with a 40% probability. ZachXBT previously announced on Feb. 26 that he would expose insider trading at an unnamed crypto company. The trading volume for this prediction market has reached approximately $23.5 million. Meanwhile, there has also been speculation that Polymarket itself could be the target of the exposé.

Despite Bitcoin's rise to $69,380, its broader downtrend remains active, according to cryptocurrency analyst Aaron Dishner. In an X post, Dishner argued that recent trading volume has diminished with each rebound, and the On-Balance Volume (OBV) indicator only halted its month-long decline yesterday. He noted that while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has bounced from 25.61 to 51.69, suggesting a potential bullish divergence, this trend is not yet confirmed. Meanwhile, a bear flag pattern—a sharp decline followed by consolidation before another drop—remains valid. To invalidate this pattern, BTC would need a daily close above $69,000. Dishner compared the current rebound to a similar pattern seen in 2022 before a 30% price crash. He explained that he would reconsider his bearish stance if the $60,000 level is firmly established as a bottom, but for now, the price action is too similar to 2022. He concluded that the major downtrend is ongoing and could see prices fall to $49,000.

Upbit announced it will delist Dent (DENT) at 6:00 a.m. UTC on March 30.

Cryptocurrency analyst Alex Krüger has refuted rumors that market maker Jane Street deleted all its posts on X, stating the firm had no posts to begin with. In a post on X, Krüger expressed surprise at the amount of fake news and misinformation in the crypto industry, adding that Jane Street's lack of posts can be verified with archive tools like the Wayback Machine. The rumor, which circulated within the community and blamed the firm for recent market declines, suggested Jane Street had deleted its posts in response to a lawsuit from Terraform Labs. Terraform Labs has sued Jane Street, alleging it used inside information to profit unfairly during the 2022 collapse of Terra and LUNA.

The Indiana state legislature has passed a bill that would allow public pensions to invest in cryptocurrency, The Block reported. The legislation, Bill 1042, mandates the introduction of self-directed brokerage accounts for certain state-managed retirement and savings pensions. These accounts would be required to offer at least one cryptocurrency investment product. The bill is now awaiting the governor's final signature.

BTC perp long/short ratios on top exchanges by open interest The following are the 24-hour long/short ratios for BTC perpetual futures on the world’s three largest crypto futures exchanges by open interest: Overall: 51.57% long, 47.67% short - Binance: 52.33% long, 47.67% short - OKX: 52.39% long, 47.61% short - Bybit: 51.42% long, 48.58% short

The Imperial Blockchain Group, a student society at Imperial College London, has announced it will host its fourth AI Agent Hackathon from March 1 to 7. The event aims to bring together developers from the UK and Europe to build the next generation of generative AI agents. Participants will be tasked with designing and deploying practical multi-AI agent systems. The hackathon is sponsored by OpenClaw, FLOCK, and the Blockchain Gaming Alliance (BGA). Partners, including the privacy AI platform Venice, Animoca Brands, and Supercell, will provide technical support and prize money. The event will be held in a hybrid online and offline format and will include mentoring sessions for agent developers. CoinNess is a media partner for this event.

The following shows estimated liquidation volumes and position ratios for major crypto perpetual futures over the past 24 hours: - BTC: $235.07 million liquidated (83.06% shorts) - ETH: $204.1 million liquidated (86.01% shorts) - SOL: $31.75 million liquidated (87.03% shorts)