But a CEO building payment infrastructure for AI agents says the the piece got the direction right while misidentifying the primary casualties.

Citrini’s Scenario Rattled Markets

Citrini Research’s over 7,000-word Substack post, titled “The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis” and explicitly framed as “a scenario, not a prediction,” modeled a speculative future where AI agents autonomously reroute transactions away from card networks toward stablecoin rails, wiping out interchange economics in the process.

By Monday’s open, the S&P 500 turned red and closed down more than 1%. Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and DoorDash Inc. (NYSE:DASH) each fell between 4% and 6%.

Issuers,… Read more on Benzinga

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remains roughly 50% below its all-time high, but adoption across institutions, corporations and governments continues to expand,

According to Bitcoin service provider River, this suggests a bear market in price, not necessarily in fundamentals.

Institutional Accumulation at Record Levels

In 2025, institutions accumulated an estimated 829,000 BTC, distributing exposure to millions of investors through ETFs, retirement accounts and corporate balance sheets.

Selling pressure has largely come from long-term holders and whales, while individuals still control roughly two-thirds of total supply, indicating decentralization remains intact despite institutional growth.

RIAs Are… Read more on Benzinga

Dogecoin Rises Above 10 Cents Wednesday

Bitcoin was trading around $69,500 Wednesday afternoon, up around 7% on the day, while Dogecoin climbed more than 12% to above 10 cents, extending a powerful intraday move.

Dogecoin’s outsized move is a familiar pattern in crypto markets. Bitcoin functions as the system’s reserve asset: when it breaks higher, it signals a broad risk-on turn for digital assets. Large investors typically rotate fresh capital into Bitcoin first, pushing prices and sentiment higher.

As confidence builds and early gains in Bitcoin crystallize, traders hunt for higher beta plays: cheaper tokens that historically move more than Bitcoin on a percentage basis.

Dogecoin, with…

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) appears to be tracking a familiar midterm-year bear market pattern, with one analyst warning that any early March strength may prove temporary rather than signaling a durable low.

Bounce In Early March, But A Bull Trap?

Crypto analyst Benjamin Cowen says Bitcoin is closely mirroring price behaviour seen in prior midterm years, 2014, 2018 and 2022,: weakness into February, a brief rally in early March, and then another leg lower into spring.

While Cowen acknowledges that a short-term bounce looks increasingly likely, he cautions it may be a bull trap rather than a true cycle bottom.

From a technical standpoint, several historical bear market bottom conditions remain…

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Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) surged 22% after its Q4 earnings report as the company targets 40% compound annual growth for USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) circulation.

The Earnings Beat

Circle reported Q4 revenue and reserve income of $770 million, driven primarily by reserve income reaching $733 million. 

Average USDC in circulation doubled year-over-year to $76.2 billion, though the reserve return rate declined 68 basis points to 3.8%.

USDC circulation ended the year at $75.3 billion, up 72% from the end of 2024. Net income from continuing operations hit $133 million for Q4 compared with $4 million in the prior-year period. 

Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA reached $167 million, a 412% increase from…

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