A European Central Bank working paper finds that stablecoins can function as substitutes for retail bank deposits, potentially shrinking banks' funding bases and constraining lending if adoption becomes widespread. The authors argue that this shift could alter how policy rate changes pass through the euro area banking system and indirectly expose the region to U.S. monetary policy via dollar-denominated stablecoins. While current usage is largely tied to crypto trading, the study warns that scale and evolving use cases will determine how strongly stablecoins reshape bank balance sheets and monetary transmission.

On March 2, 2026 in Washington, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael S. Selig announced that former federal prosecutor David I. Miller will lead the agency's enforcement division. Miller moves to the CFTC from private practice, where he focused on commodities, securities and digital asset enforcement, and will succeed acting enforcement director Paul Hayeck, who will continue overseeing the Complex Fraud Task Force.

Ripple has upgraded its Ripple Payments platform to let businesses manage cross-border transfers in both fiat currencies and stablecoins through a single interface. The system, used in more than 60 markets and handling over $100 billion in transactions, now bundles custody, virtual accounts, collections, and liquidity tools into one infrastructure for banks and fintech firms. With over 75 licenses worldwide, Ripple positions the service as a compliant option for institutions seeking near real-time international payouts and unified fund management.

MARA Holdings reported in its latest 10-K that it began selling Bitcoin in the second half of 2025 and plans to continue monetizing BTC in 2026 to improve financial flexibility. The miner holds a treasury of 53,822 BTC, part of which is used for passive income, and may sell additional coins depending on market conditions and capital priorities.

WhiteBIT's native token WBT traded below $6 for most of 2023 before climbing to above $50 and entering the top 15 cryptocurrencies by market cap by February 2026. Launched in August 2022, it has gained more than 3,000% from its all-time low, supported by exchange growth, token burns and inclusion in the S&P Crypto Indices. The token now benefits from expanding utility on the platform, major football sponsorships and an upcoming listing on Kraken, but its outlook remains closely tied to WhiteBIT's business performance and broader market conditions.

In a Monday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, MARA Holdings said it may sell some of the Bitcoin on its balance sheet from time to time starting in 2026, after already allowing sales of mined coins in 2025. The update comes as major mining firms face higher production costs, post large 2025 losses and increasingly redirect infrastructure toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing services.

NEAR Protocol rose about 12% in the last 24 hours, lifting its price to around $1.35 and market capitalization above $1.7 billion, placing it 44th among cryptocurrencies. The rally followed the launch of the Confidential Intents upgrade, which enables private DeFi transactions, and drew praise from several analysts who highlighted NEAR's AI and privacy-focused capabilities. Some traders see a bullish chart pattern forming, while others point to an overbought RSI above 70 that could signal a near-term pullback.

As coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran enter their fourth day, gold has surged toward $5,400 per ounce and Brent crude has jumped about 17% to $83, while Bitcoin has slid back toward $66,000 and remains roughly 47% below its $126,000 peak from last October. According to Elliptic, withdrawals on Iranian exchange Nobitex, which serves around 11 million users and handles about 87% of the country’s crypto volume, spiked over 700% within minutes of the first airstrikes, with nearly $3 million moved off the platform in one hour as users sought to move funds away from local banking channels.