PA Daily News | Pakistan Passes Virtual Assets Act; Coinbase Prime Launches Unified Margin and Spot Derivatives Trading Platform

Today's top news highlights:

1. Pakistan passed the Virtual Assets Act, establishing a National Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.

2. The White House released a cyber strategy document, which for the first time included encryption and blockchain and emphasized combating anonymous financial channels.

3. Prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket are both seeking funding at valuations of approximately $20 billion.

4. PancakeSwap responds to Curve code allegations: Will communicate and discuss directly with the team.

5. Coinbase Prime launches unified margin and spot derivatives trading platform

6. Strategy releases details of shareholdings by the top 10 asset management companies: Vanguard holds 8.12%, ranking first.

Regulation & Macro

Pakistan passed the Virtual Assets Act, establishing a National Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.

Pakistan's parliament has passed the Virtual Assets Act, 2026, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for the country's rapidly growing digital finance sector. The new law establishes the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), responsible for licensing, regulating, and supervising virtual asset service providers operating in Pakistan. The framework focuses on enhancing transparency, protecting investors, and maintaining the integrity and stability of the virtual asset market, while also supporting "responsible innovation" in fintech. The legislation also grants PVARA the power to combat illicit activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing using virtual assets, aligning Pakistan's regulatory approach with international standards.

Alchemy Pay obtains Delaware MTL license, expanding its compliance footprint in the United States.

Alchemy Pay announced that it has obtained a Money Transmitter License (MTL) in Delaware, USA, authorizing it to provide regulated money transfer and fiat-to-crypto payment services there. With Delaware joining the list, Alchemy Pay now holds MTL licenses in 15 states, including Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wyoming, Arizona, South Carolina, Kansas, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and has filed additional applications in several other states. The company stated that this compliance arrangement will support its expansion of its fiat-to-crypto payment business and its future plans for its own stablecoin and stablecoin public chain, Alchemy Chain.

Strike has obtained a BitLicense in New York, allowing it to provide Bitcoin financial services in the area.

Bitcoin payment company Strike has received a BitLicense and money transfer license from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), allowing it to provide services such as buying and selling Bitcoin, converting wages to Bitcoin, and paying utility bills, credit cards, and mortgages with Bitcoin balances to individuals and businesses in New York. Strike states that its customers' Bitcoin and fiat currency balances will be held in escrow on a one-to-one basis, and it will not participate in lending or company operations. The company previously announced plans to launch a Bitcoin-collateralized lending business, allowing users to borrow fiat currency while holding BTC. The new license enables it to advance its expansion plans in one of the most regulated digital asset markets.

The White House released a cyber strategy document, which for the first time included encryption and blockchain and emphasized combating anonymous financial channels.

Alex Thorn, research director at Galaxy Research, wrote on the X platform that the White House has released President Trump's Cyber ​​Strategy for America, a 7-page, 6-pillar strategy emphasizing cyber offense and deterrence, but with limited details on specific implementation. For the first time, the document explicitly mentions cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in a U.S. cybersecurity strategy, stating the need for "protection and security." This was not mentioned in Joe Biden's 2023 National Cyber ​​Security Strategy. However, the strategy also proposes to "eradicate criminal infrastructure and cut off financial exit routes," and to combat transnational cybercrime in conjunction with new executive orders. Analysts believe this statement may provide a policy basis for regulators to strengthen their crackdown on coin mixers, privacy coins, and unregulated deposit and withdrawal channels.

Furthermore, the strategy proposes expanding offensive cyber operations authority and plans to mobilize the private sector to combat hostile networks, while also promoting AI-driven automated cyber defense systems. The accompanying executive order will also establish a new operational unit within the National Coordination Center to coordinate law enforcement against transnational cybercrime groups.

The People's Bank of China has increased its gold reserves for the 16th consecutive month.

According to Jinshi News, the People's Bank of China reported that China's gold reserves at the end of February were 74.22 million ounces (approximately 2,308.5 tons), an increase of 30,000 ounces (approximately 0.93 tons) month-on-month. At the end of January, the reserves were 74.19 million ounces (approximately 2,307.567 tons), marking the 16th consecutive month of gold purchases.

A New York judge has granted a class-action lawsuit filed by Tether and Bitfinex, potentially resulting in losses of hundreds of billions of dollars for investors.

According to a statement issued by a New York federal judge, investors in the market manipulation lawsuit against Tether and Bitfinex have been granted class-action status and the case has been divided into two groups of plaintiffs: spot investors and futures traders. The case alleges that Tether and Bitfinex manipulated cryptocurrency market prices by issuing USDT between 2017 and 2019, causing investors who bought BTC and ETH to lose hundreds of billions of dollars.

International oil prices surged 35.6% in a single week, breaking through $90, marking the largest weekly increase in history.

U.S. WTI crude oil futures rose 12.67% to $91.27 a barrel, a 35.6% increase from before the escalation of the Iraq War on February 28, marking the largest weekly gain for the commodity since its inception in 1983; UK Brent crude oil futures rose 9.26% to $93.32 a barrel, a 27.5% increase for the week, the largest weekly gain since 1990.

Looking back at history, after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the end of February 2022, both Brent and WTI crude oil prices saw weekly increases of approximately 25% in early March; during the Gulf War in August 1990, Brent spot prices rose by as much as 26% in a single week. The Iraq War has now caused crude oil prices to break all previous records for weekly gains.

Iranian President: Unconditional surrender is absolutely impossible; apologizes to neighboring countries.

According to a report by CCTV News cited by Jinshi, Iranian President Pezechian delivered a speech calling on the nation to unite and defend Iran, and stating that Iran would never surrender unconditionally. In his speech, Pezechian apologized to neighboring countries and stated that the interim leadership council had approved on the 6th a cessation of attacks on neighboring countries and missile launches unless those countries launch an attack on Iran first.

Project Updates

Polkadot's first US spot ETF debuts on Nasdaq.

Crypto fund issuer 21Shares has launched the first U.S. spot Polkadot ETF, ticker symbol TDOT, which is already listed on Nasdaq. According to Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, the fund has an initial size of approximately $11 million and a management fee of 0.3%. This product provides investors with a tool to track the spot price of Polkadot (DOT) without requiring them to directly hold the token. 21Shares has previously launched several spot crypto ETFs, including products for Bitcoin and altcoins such as XRP, Sui, Solana, and Dogecoin. Its XRP fund alone manages approximately $174 million. DOT is currently priced at approximately $1.47, with a total market capitalization of approximately $1.7 billion.

Both prediction market firms Kalshi and Polymarket are seeking funding at valuations of approximately $20 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal, prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are reportedly in talks with potential investors for a new round of funding, each targeting a valuation of approximately $20 billion. Sources familiar with the matter said that the two companies were valued at about half that level at the end of last year. As competition intensifies in the prediction market, both companies are accelerating their efforts to grow their user base and use this momentum to drive new funding negotiations.

BlackRock's $26 billion private credit fund restricts redemptions, potentially triggering a chain reaction in risky assets and the crypto market.

A BlackRock private lending fund with approximately $26 billion in assets has begun restricting withdrawals due to rising redemption requests, raising concerns about the spillover of pressure from the global private lending market. Analysts warn that the risk could also be transmitted directly on-chain. Data shows that the current scale of on-chain private lending is approaching $5 billion, mainly entering DeFi in the form of RWA tokens. Once the underlying credit assets experience impairment or default, the net value fluctuations of the related tokens could trigger liquidations or liquidity tightening, thereby transmitting traditional credit pressure to the DeFi ecosystem. Furthermore, tensions in this sector could be transmitted to the crypto market through both macro deleveraging and tokenized lending products. If private lending funds are forced to deleverage or liquidate assets, it could trigger a chain reaction across a wider range of risky assets, impacting crypto assets including Bitcoin.

PancakeSwap responds to Curve code allegations: Will communicate and discuss directly with the team.

In response to Curve Finance's accusation that PancakeSwap appears to have used Stableswap's code and borrowed security practices to protect user funds without permission, violating its open-source license agreement, PancakeSwap stated that it will contact the Curve Finance team directly to discuss the matter.

Coinbase Prime launches unified margin and spot derivatives trading platform

Coinbase Prime announced the launch of regulated futures and unified cross-product margining across the crypto spot and derivatives markets. This will provide 24/7 access to over 20 futures contracts through Coinbase Financial Markets, while integrating with Coinbase's existing perpetual contracts. This feature allows institutions to share margin within a single account, improving the capital efficiency of hedging strategies, simplifying portfolio management, and supporting unified risk assessment for spot and futures positions. This will enable trading, custody, financing, and risk management to operate in a unified environment.

Binance Wallet launches WTI crude oil (CL) perpetual contracts

Binance Wallet has announced the launch of WTI crude oil (CL) perpetual contracts, allowing users to trade crude oil derivatives on Binance Wallet Perpetuals. The platform is also offering incentives, including 0% Maker Fee, 1.2x Aster airdrop points, and a $10,000 ASTER CL trading competition based on trading volume.

Opinions & Analysis

Hassett: Prediction markets have their uses

According to Jinshi Data, White House National Economic Council Director Hassett stated that forecasting markets have their uses. (Regarding Iran and oil issues) He said there will be no discussion of using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the near future. The military is developing a plan to allow ships to pass through. (Regarding tariff rebates) He expressed concern about lawsuits filed by large corporations regarding this issue. The private sector will negotiate the specific methods for refunds.

Vitalik proposed upgrading Ethereum's finality mechanism, with Minimmit potentially replacing Casper FFG.

Vitalik Buterin published an article on the X platform stating that in discussions about the Ethereum consensus mechanism, a proposal is underway to replace the current finality component, Casper FFG, with the new Minimmit. He argues that Casper FFG employs a two-round finality mechanism (validators need to sign twice to complete "proof" and "final confirmation"), while Minimmit only requires one round of signing to achieve finality. As a trade-off, Minimmit's fault tolerance threshold will decrease from 33% in Casper FFG to approximately 17%. Despite the reduced fault tolerance, Minimmit is more likely to lead the network into a state of "multi-chain competition rather than erroneous final confirmation" under various attack or client vulnerability scenarios, a situation that is easier to recover from through community coordination. He believes that compared to erroneous blocks being finalized, avoiding finality in the short term is safer and more recoverable, therefore Minimmit may be superior in terms of overall security trade-offs.

Arthur Hayes: HYPE target price reaches $150; oil prices may find a price on Hyperliquid this weekend.

BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes stated in an article on the X platform that market price discovery may shift to crypto-native platforms during the weekend when traditional exchanges are closed. He pointed out that against the backdrop of escalating conflicts in the Middle East, Hyperliquid's perpetual oil contract CL-USDC may become an important price discovery market for oil price movements over the weekend. Hayes further reiterated that with increased trading activity, the target price for Hyperliquid's platform token HYPE could reach $150.

The CLARITY Act is expected to pass before July, marking the first time that traditional financial institutions and crypto companies are jointly involved.

According to Fortune, Kristin Smith, a senior Washington crypto policy expert and president of the Solana Policy Institute, stated that the CLARITY Act, legislation targeting crypto assets and services, could pass Congress before July. In the latest episode of Fortune Crypto Playbook, Smith pointed out that despite Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrawing his support in January, causing industry concerns, the active involvement of several key senators and the White House team makes the bill still likely to move forward. Smith revealed that the legislative team is pushing the Senate Banking Committee to complete its review in March or April so that the bill can be submitted to the full Senate for a vote before the July recess. She emphasized that traditional financial institutions and crypto companies are actively participating in negotiations for the first time, and President Trump is also pressuring banks through social media, increasing the likelihood of the bill's passage. If it proceeds smoothly, the CLARITY Act will provide clear rules for the integration of crypto assets into the mainstream financial system, marking a new phase in crypto industry regulation.

Analysts: Bitcoin selling pressure has eased, but a full bottom has not yet been confirmed; the bear market may have entered its mid-stage.

CryptoQuant analyst Axel wrote on the X platform that the NUPL-MVRV harmonic composite indicator reached 0.33, while historical cycle bottoms usually appear in the range of around 0.5. The chart shows that the bear market cycle has begun to show an upward trend, and Bitcoin may have entered the middle stage of this bear market cycle. This indicates that the extreme selling situation is becoming more moderate, but the indicator is still far above the historical bottom area, which means that a full-scale market sell-off has not yet been confirmed.

Important data

Jiuzi Holdings raised $80 million through a rights issue to support the construction of a cryptocurrency treasury.

Nasdaq-listed Jiuzi Holdings announced that it has reached and signed an investment agreement with a strategic investment institution, which will subscribe for 40 million ordinary shares of the company at a price of $2 per share, for a total investment of $80 million. The first phase of investment has been completed. The new funds will be used to expand cash reserves to support the construction of a crypto asset treasury and the development of asset allocation strategies. The treasury is expected to include various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net outflow of $349 million yesterday, with none of the twelve ETFs experiencing net inflows.

According to SoSoValue data, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net outflow of $349 million yesterday (March 6, Eastern Time).

The Bitcoin spot ETF with the largest single-day net outflow yesterday was the Fidelity ETF FBTC, with a net outflow of $159 million. The total historical net outflow for FBTC is currently $153 million.

The second largest outflow was from the BlackRock ETF IBIT, which saw a net outflow of $143 million in a single day. IBIT's total historical net inflow has reached $660 million.

As of press time, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs was $87.075 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market capitalization as a percentage of Bitcoin's total market capitalization) of 6.39%, and a cumulative net inflow of $55.369 billion.

Ethereum spot ETFs saw a total net outflow of $82.8519 million yesterday, with none of the nine ETFs experiencing net inflows.

According to SoSoValue data, the Ethereum spot ETF saw a total net outflow of $82.8519 million yesterday (March 6, Eastern Time).

The Ethereum spot ETF with the largest single-day net outflow yesterday was the Fidelity ETF FETH, with a single-day net outflow of $67.5669 million. The total historical net outflow of FETH has now reached $218 million.

The second largest outflow was from the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH), which saw a net outflow of $5.9979 million in a single day. ETH's total historical net inflow has reached $84.1805 million.

As of press time, the Ethereum spot ETF has a total net asset value of $11.283 billion, an ETF net asset ratio (market capitalization as a percentage of Ethereum's total market capitalization) of 4.72%, and a historical cumulative net inflow of $11.629 billion.

Strategy released details of shareholdings by its top 10 asset management firms: Vanguard holds 8.12%, ranking first.

Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy has published a list of its top ten holdings in global asset management companies on the X platform, including:

1. The Vanguard Group holds 8.12% of the shares, with a market value of $3.183 billion.

2. Capital Research & Management holds 7.7% of the shares, with a market value of US$3.019 billion.

3. BlackRock Fund Advisors holds 3.64% of the shares, with a market value of $1.428 billion.

4. Capital Research & Management holds 2.62% of the shares, with a market value of US$1.026 billion.

5. SSGA Funds Management holds 2.29% of the shares, with a market value of $897 million.

6. Morgan Stanley holds a 2.08% stake, with a market value of $815 million.

7. UBS Securities holds 2.02% of the shares, with a market value of $793 million.

8. Amundi Asset Management SASU holds 1.77% of the shares, with a market value of $693 million.

9. Geode Capital Management holds 1.46% of the shares, with a market value of $573 million.

10. Norges Bank Investment Management holds 1.32% of the shares, with a market value of $517 million.