On 9 March 2026, CoinGecko data showed Binance leading perpetual futures trading with $13.6 trillion, more than twice OKX's $5.8 trillion, while overall perps volume reached over $7.24 trillion per month. Hyperliquid, an on-chain exchange, entered the global top 10 with $1.5 trillion in volume and helped lift DEX market share in perps to about 10.2%, supported by high open interest ratios and faster execution. Centralized venues still benefit from deeper liquidity and fiat access, but growth in DeFi, real-world asset perps, institutional activity, and AI-driven trading is reshaping the derivatives landscape.

Between October 2025 and February 2026, public Bitcoin miners collectively sold more than 15,000 BTC from their treasuries, with February 2026 alone seeing roughly 6,100 BTC offloaded. Facing hashprice below $30/PH/s, a 70% drop in transaction fee revenue, and a falling Bitcoin price from an October 2025 peak near $126,000, firms such as Core Scientific, Bitdeer, Cango, and MARA Holdings are shifting from long‑term hoarding toward active liquidation and, in some cases, funding AI and high-performance computing pivots.

On March 3, 2026, TCS Blockchain and PayPal announced the integration of PayPal USD (PYUSD) into a freight payment system aimed at shortening trucking payment cycles that can stretch from 30 to 180 days. The solution routes digital invoices through TCS utility tokens and the INX-Republic exchange into PYUSD, enabling same-day settlements and potentially cutting costs by up to 90% compared with traditional invoicing and factoring. TCS Blockchain expects the platform to process over $1 billion in freight invoices in 2026, in a market where truckers can lose more than 30% of net revenue to early payment services.

On 4 March 2026, South Korea's Financial Services Commission proposed capping individual and corporate ownership in major crypto exchanges at 15–20%, with limited exemptions up to 34%. Large shareholders at platforms such as Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone could be required to divest significant stakes over three to six years, while industry groups argue the plan violates property rights and may push businesses abroad. The initiative is part of the Digital Asset Basic Act (Phase 2), which will be reviewed by parliament in early 2026.

On 3 March 2026, Core Scientific confirmed it sold about 1,900 BTC in January for $175 million and aims to liquidate nearly all remaining Bitcoin to finance AI infrastructure. The company is channeling this capital into a $10 billion-plus, 12‑year hosting agreement with CoreWeave and additional data center capacity in Texas. Its Q4 2025 results missed revenue and earnings expectations, but AI colocation income surged 268% year‑over‑year while liquidity stood near $530 million.

On 28 February 2026, former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès released a draft plan for a Bitcoin hard fork aimed at recovering 79,956 BTC tied to the 2011 exchange hack and held in the “1Feex” address. The proposal would redirect the coins, worth over $5.2 billion at current prices, into Japan’s court-led civil rehabilitation for Mt. Gox creditors, but has reignited debate over immutability, potential chain splits, and short-term downside risk for Bitcoin’s price.

On 28 February 2026, Barclays said it is engaging technology vendors to develop a blockchain platform for payments, deposits, and settlements. The bank targets a partner decision by April 2026 and has taken a stake in Ubyx, while the stablecoin market is close to $300 billion and a tokenized sterling pilot with HSBC and Lloyds is scheduled through mid-2026.

On February 28, 2026, Bitcoin fell to nearly $64,000 on Coinbase after headlines of an Israeli strike on Iran sparked a swift risk‑off move. Roughly $100 million in crypto long positions were liquidated within 15 minutes as the drop accelerated, while the CoinMarketCap 20 Index slid 4.70% over 24 hours.

On 26 February 2026, Wallet in Telegram launched on-chain yield vaults for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT within its messaging app. The update extends the Earn section with DeFi strategies, including a USDT vault that currently advertises up to 18% annualized returns and builds on earlier TON staking and Affluent protocol integrations. The rollout follows recent cross-chain deposit support and adds to a growing roster of supported assets and wallet options.