Eleven Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, led by Elizabeth Warren, sent a letter urging Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to examine Binance's operations. The request cites reports of illicit finance linked to Iran and potential conflicts with the exchange's 2023 settlement. Separately, Richard Blumenthal's February 24 letter flagged possible $1.7 billion Iran-related transactions; Binance denies sanctions violations.

Coinbase could become a major corporate winner from the GENIUS Act, the first broad U.S. crypto law signed in July 2025 that sets federal rules for stablecoin issuance. Bloomberg analysts Paul Gulberg and Samuel Radowitz estimate that Coinbase's USDC-linked revenue, which reached about $1.35 billion in 2025 after rising 48% from $911 million in 2024, might scale by two to seven times if dollar-pegged tokens gain wider use in payments. They also highlight that this interest-based income stream stayed resilient in late 2025, when Coinbase's overall quarterly revenue fell 20% amid a sharp crypto price downturn.

World Liberty Financial said early Monday it faced a "coordinated attack" aimed at USD1, its stablecoin. According to CoinGecko, USD1, which has nearly $4.8 billion in market value, briefly slipped off its $1 peg before returning to parity. Speculation also rose around a Feb. 26 report teased by ZachXBT, though any connection to WLFI remains unverified.

Bitcoin remains under $70,000, and a fresh analysis warns the market may not be forming a durable base. The study highlights three overlapping pressures: fading equity momentum, a structurally lower-volatility and higher-correlation regime shaped by ETF flows, and a Federal Reserve stance that is steady but not supportive. Together, these factors keep downside risks elevated.

According to a recent analysis by Fortune, Bitcoin and Ethereum are enduring one of their toughest year openings on record, with Bitcoin about 46% below its all-time high and Ethereum roughly 60% under its peak. Since January, the S&P 500 is up approximately 0.4%, the Dow Jones has gained 2.3%, and gold and silver have advanced around 17% and 14%, underscoring a divergence from crypto.

At the World Liberty Forum held this week at Mar-a-Lago, Eric Trump again projected that Bitcoin could eventually climb to $1 million per coin and said he has never been more optimistic about the asset's future. Donald Trump Jr. used the same event to denounce traditional banking as a "Ponzi scheme" and claimed that the Trump family moved into crypto after banks closed hundreds of Trump Organization accounts in early 2021. The brothers also alleged that other conservative clients were "debanked" and positioned their World Liberty Financial project as part of an effort to modernize finance, while Bitcoin traded around $66,258, roughly 50% below its $126,000 peak from last October.

Standard Chartered has sharply lowered its XRP price forecast, reducing its end-of-2026 target from $8 to $2.80 after last month's broad crypto market downturn. The token, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency, recently rebounded about 2% over the week and was trading near $1.47, but the bank's digital assets team no longer expects a new all-time high this year. The bank also trimmed its price projections for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana as part of a wider reassessment of major digital assets.

Market analyst Sam Daodu reviews past Bitcoin cycles, noting that 40%–50% corrections have frequently retraced within nine to fourteen months when no systemic breakdown occurs. He also points to a realized price near $55,000 as a potential floor, while Bitcoin surpassed its 2021 peak in March 2024 after a 28‑month recovery.

After reporting its fourth‑quarter results, Strategy’s leadership said the firm would withstand further Bitcoin (BTC) weakness, even as the token briefly approached $60,000 and MSTR stock fell to about $104. Founder Michael Saylor and CEO Phong Le highlighted a $2.25 billion cash reserve against $888 million in annual preferred dividends and $8.2 billion of low‑ and zero‑interest convertible bonds, with Le noting Bitcoin would need to drop roughly 90% for the company’s BTC holdings to only match its debt. Both Bitcoin and MSTR later rebounded, with BTC around $69,256 and the stock climbing above $130, easing immediate pressure on Strategy’s balance sheet.