By Shikha Singh
Metaplanet Buys 497 BTC in Another Bargain-Hunting Bitcoin Acquisition.
Tokyo-listed Metaplanet announced on Wednesday that it had acquired 497 bitcoin (BTC), valued at $43.3 million, at an average price of $88,448, the company’s CEO Simon Gerovich announced on X.
This brings its total BTC holdings to 2,888 BTC. The firm’s total coin stash has an aggregate cost basis of $240 million, with an average purchase price of $83,172.
Ethereum’s ‘Pectra’ Upgrade Moves Closer to Mainnet After Sepolia Test.
Ethereum’s long-awaited Pectra upgrade took a major step forward early Wednesday with its successful deployment on the Sepolia test network.
Pectra, the biggest upgrade to Ethereum since 2024, will ship all 11 major features, or “Ethereum improvement proposals” (EIPs), at once. Together, the features aim to enhance staking, wallet functionality, and overall network efficiency.
Ethereum developers are set to meet on Mar. 6 to discuss Pectra’s mainnet release timeline. With only one fully successful test, developers may opt to delay the mainnet deployment to ensure stability.
Blockstream to Launch 3 Funds After Securing Multi-Billion Dollar Investment.
Blockstream has raised several billion dollars to launch three investment funds, including two focused on crypto lending, Bloomberg reported.
The funds, set to launch in April, will offer Bitcoin-backed loans, crypto borrowing with U.S. dollars as collateral, and hedge fund strategies.
The move comes as Blockstream expands in Japan, aiming to advance Bitcoin Layer-2 solutions, self-custody, and real-world asset tokenization.
Circle’s USDC to be First USD Stablecoin in Japan.
SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of financial giant SBI Holdings, has secured regulatory approval as an Electronic Payments Provider in Japan.
The regulatory approval, granted under the Japan Financial Services Agency’s (JFSA) new framework, allows the exchange to offer stablecoins, making it the first in the country to list and distribute USDC.
In Japan, regulatory changes in 2023 cleared the way for licensed intermediaries to handle foreign stablecoins, subject to oversight.
Binance Records $3.97 bn Net Inflow Following Bybit Hack, DeFiLlama Data Shows.
Binance has experienced significant capital inflows, with a net $3.971 billion in the past week, far surpassing the combined $396.83 million inflows of nine other major cryptocurrency exchanges, according to DefiLlama data.
This surge follows the Bybit security breach, which led to a shift in market liquidity toward Binance. In February 2025, Binance recorded $5.323 billion in net inflows, while the other nine exchanges (excluding Bybit) saw a total of $1.229 billion.
Over the past year, Binance has exceeded $3 billion in net inflows in six months, with the highest recorded in November 2024 at $9.2946 billion.
Bybit Asks DAO to Return Fees Earned from Hack Transactions.
Bybit confirmed it proposed to ParaSwap’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) to return nearly $100,000 in fees earned from swaps conducted by the Lazarus Group using stolen digital assets.
The proposal sparked debate within the ParaSwap community, with some members questioning the potential implications of returning the funds.
While some argued that returning the funds would show support for another industry player and avoid regulatory scrutiny, others warned it would set a dangerous precedent for DeFi, as the DAO earned the fees legitimately via smart contracts.
The debate also extended to whether Bybit might request similar refunds from other protocols, like THORChain, which the hackers used to swap stolen assets.
Some community members suggested negotiating a structured return, keeping a 10% bounty, while others opposed returning the funds, citing past decisions to not refund fees in similar situations.
Tether USDt Custody and Transfers ‘Not Restricted’ Under MiCA, says ESMA.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has clarified the status of non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins, adding to ongoing uncertainty.
Binance announced plans to delist nine such stablecoins, including Tether’s USDT, for users in the European Economic Area (EEA), though it will still allow deposits and withdrawals after the delisting on March 31.
According to ESMA, offering storage and transfer services for stablecoins that don’t follow MiCA rules doesn’t break the law. However, it warned crypto asset service providers (CASPs) not to help people buy these assets.
The regulator also emphasized that crypto asset service providers (CASPs) can offer “sell-only” services until March 31 to allow users to exit their positions.
The lack of clarity around MiCA’s impact on non-compliant stablecoins and other areas of the crypto industry, such as tokenized assets and staking, has sparked ongoing debates.
Hamster Kombat’s L2 Network Surpasses Solana with 34,028 TPS.
Hamster Kombat’s newly launched Layer-2 blockchain, Hamster Network, has surpassed Solana in transactions per second (TPS), achieving 34,028 TPS, nearly eight times faster than Solana’s 4,360 TPS.
This milestone highlights Hamster Network’s potential to challenge Solana in speed, particularly in gaming and high-speed blockchain applications.
The network aims to offer a high-speed, low-cost environment for decentralized applications (dApps), addressing issues like high gas fees and congestion.
Despite this achievement, the Hamster Kombat token (HMSTR) has seen a slight decrease in value. Hamster Network is also preparing to launch an accelerator program to support developers and has engaged its community to stress-test the network.
Animoca Brands’ Digital Asset Advisory Business Grows 116% in 2024.
Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based web3 firm, saw a 116% year-over-year growth in its digital asset advisory (DAA) business for the 2024 fiscal year.
The DAA division, which provides services like tokenomics, marketing, and listing advisory, served 21 projects, including the PENGU token launch.
The DAA business contributed $165 million to Animoca’s total $314 million in bookings for the year, compared to $77 million in 2023.
This growth reflects increased demand for tokenomic advisory services, particularly during a year marked by new token launches.
Animoca’s other activities, including subsidiaries and investment ventures, contributed an additional $149 million in bookings.
Sygnum Adds Off-Exchange Crypto Custody to Deribit with Fireblocks Tech.
Sygnum, a cryptocurrency banking firm, is partnering with crypto derivatives exchange Deribit to expand its off-exchange custody platform, Sygnum Protect.
This integration allows institutional traders on Deribit to securely hold their assets in Sygnum’s institutional-grade custody while accessing Deribit’s trading offerings and liquidity.
The collaboration also involves Fireblocks, a crypto infrastructure firm, which provides off-exchange solutions to mirror assets held in Sygnum’s custody to Deribit.
The goal of the integration is to lower the risks of dealing with counterparties and improve protection against cyber threats. This will help make institutional crypto trading safer.
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