When geopolitical risk flares up, markets tend to reach for familiar shelters. Gold usually catches a bid. U.S. Treasuries often rally as investors seek safety and liquidity. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), born out of the 2008 financial crisis and long marketed as an alternative to government money, is supposed to fit into that same category.

But the latest bout of conflict in the Middle East has reopened an uncomfortable question for crypto investors. When fear hits the market, does Bitcoin really behave like a hedge, or does it still trade like a high-octane risk asset?

To get an answer, it helps to look at how Bitcoin moved compared with gold and U.S. Treasuries during the most recent shock.

The… Read more on Benzinga

Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP) CTO David Schwartz on Tuesday said Hidden Road going live on DTCC’s National Securities Clearing Corporation directory March 2 and connecting Ripple Prime’s infrastructure to traditional finance settlement “seems important.”

The DTCC Integration

The deployment allows Ripple Prime to bridge traditional finance and decentralized finance through recognized clearing and settlement infrastructure.

Institutions don’t migrate balance sheets overnight. They add controlled corridors first with a prime brokerage layer that can face clients, manage collateral, and connect into recognized infrastructure. 

This approach lowers the switching cost and perceived operational…

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Sharp selloffs tend to expose weak points in financial systems. In traditional markets, liquidity can dry up quickly when volatility spikes. In crypto, the same test applies to decentralized finance, where lending, trading, and borrowing depend entirely on on chain liquidity rather than on central intermediaries.

The latest bout of market turbulence, driven by geopolitical tension and a broader risk off move across global assets, delivered another real time experiment. Prices fell quickly across major tokens, with Bitcoin and Ethereum leading the decline. Yet while prices swung sharply, DeFi liquidity remained relatively stable.

That contrast has drawn attention from traders and analysts…

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Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), weighed in on the debate surrounding stablecoin rewards on Monday, insisting that any cryptocurrency firm offering should fall under banking regulations.

‘If They Want To Be A Bank, So Be It’

During an interview with CNBC, Dimon responded to a question about his reported disagreements with Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong over the rewards clause in the cryptocurrency market structure bill.

Dimon said rewards are basically just interest, but a workable “compromise” could be paying rewards on transactions and not balances.

“If you are going to be holding balances and paying interest, that’s the bank. You…

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday denied ties to a cryptocurrency named after her and warned the public to stay vigilant.

Takaichi Distances From Namesake Crypto

In an X post, Takaichi said that neither she nor her office has any knowledge or involvement with the so-called SANAE TOKEN.

“We have not given any approval whatsoever in this matter,” her translated X post read. “I am making this statement to ensure that the public does not labor under any misapprehensions.”

At least two such tokens with Takaichi’s photo appeared on the CoinMarketCap platform, trading with minimal market capitalization and negligible liquidity.

One of them, with a fully diluted value of…

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Leading cryptocurrencies made a comeback on Monday despite escalating hostilities in the Middle East war.

Crypto Market Rebounds

Investors bought the dip, as Bitcoin touched $70,000 and Ethereum crossed $2,000. The two blue-chip currencies recorded a sharp spike in trading volumes.

Bitcoin’s market share narrowed to 58.5%, while Ethereum’s dominance shrank to 10.4%, although the market was from an Altcoin Season, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Nearly $430 million was liquidated from the market in the last 24 hours, according to Coinglass, with over $200 million in short liquidations alone.

Another $387 million in Bitcoin shorts faces liquidation risk if the top cryptocurrency climbed…

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Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) shares slipped in Monday’s extended trading after the company released its fourth-quarter earnings report.  

Here’s a look at the key figures from the quarter. 

The Details: Riot Platforms reported quarterly losses of $2.03 per share on quarterly revenue of $152.83 million, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Riot reported the following full-year 2025 highlights:

“2025 marked a watershed year for Riot, defined by a strategic evolution in our business that has transformed our future trajectory,” said Jason Les, CEO of Riot.

“By unlocking our large, nearly two-gigawatt power portfolio for high-demand data center infrastructure, we are driving…

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JPMorgan analysts say U.S. crypto market structure legislation could be approved by mid-year and serve as a positive catalyst for markets in the second half, identifying eight specific provisions that could reshape the industry.

The Mid-Year Approval Timeline

JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said the CLARITY Act could be approved by mid-year despite weak crypto sentiment, The Block reported on Sunday.

“If passed it will reshape market structure by providing regulatory clarity, ending ‘regulation by enforcement,’ promoting tokenization, and facilitating greater institutional participation,” the analysts wrote.

The House has already advanced the legislation while Senate…

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