24H Hot Tokens and Key News｜ZachXBT Accuses Axiom Employee of Suspected Insider Trading; Circle Stock Price Hits $90 (February 27)
- Core Viewpoint: This article aggregates cryptocurrency market data and industry developments. The core findings indicate an overall downward trend in the market, alongside key progress in regulation, technological innovation, and corporate strategic adjustments. This includes US lawmakers proposing a bill to protect developers, Ethereum releasing a performance enhancement roadmap, and several companies undergoing business transformations.
- Key Elements:
- Weak Market Performance: The top 10 mainstream tokens by CEX trading volume generally fell over the past 24 hours, with declines ranging from 2% to 12%, indicating short-term market pressure.
- Regulatory and Legislative Moves: Bipartisan US lawmakers introduced the "Promoting Blockchain Innovation Act of 2026," aiming to clearly distinguish the responsibilities of custodial institutions from software developers and protect non-custodial developers.
- Technology Roadmap Release: The Ethereum Foundation unveiled the "strawmap" roadmap, planning to reduce L1 finality to a minimum of 8 seconds through multiple hard forks and significantly increase throughput.
- Corporate Strategic Shifts: Bitcoin miner MARA announced its entry into the AI data center business; fintech company Block laid off approximately 40% of its workforce to advance its AI-first strategy.
- Insider Trading Allegations: On-chain detective ZachXBT accused an Axiom employee of suspected insider trading, with suspicious large profitable trades occurring before the news broke.
- Institutional Investment Deployment: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, invested $40 million in digital infrastructure platform Zetrix AI to explore cross-border applications of blockchain and AI.
1. Hot Tokens on CEX
Top 10 CEX Trading Volume and 24-hour Price Change:
- BNB: -2.17%
- BTC: -3.12%
- ETH: -4.24%
- SOL: -4.34%
- XRP: -5.42%
- PEPE: -11.83%
- DOGE: -7.03%
- ADA: -4.13%
- SUI: -6.66%
- LINK: -6.24%
24-hour Gainers List (Data Source: OKX):
- CFG: +63.75%
- WIN: +17.77%
- WET: +15.87%
- ZAMA: +15.49%
- YB: +11.36%
- SPACE: +8.82%
- BARD: +7.77%
- FOGO: +6.95%
- CTC: +4.86%
- SENT: +4.29%
24-hour Stock Gainers List (Data Source: msx.com):
- ProShares UltraShort Silver - MSX: +906.59%
- Block, Inc. - MSX: +31.31%
- IonQ, Inc. - MSX: +19.35%
- MARA Holdings, Inc. Common Stock - MSX: +13.19%
- Netflix Inc - MSX: +12.52%
- T-Rex 2X Inverse NVIDIA Daily Target ETF - MSX: +11.2%
- GameSquare Holdings, Inc. Common Stock - MSX: +10.99%
- Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares - MSX: +10.69%
- Intuitive Machines, Inc. Class A Common Stock - MSX: +9%
- Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3X Shares - MSX: +8.65%
2. Top 5 On-chain Meme Coins (Data Source: GMGN):
- XYZ
- Replacement
- Higuruma
- HALO
- Replaceme
Headlines
Circle's Stock Price Hits $90, Analysts Bullish on Diversified Growth of Stablecoin Business
The stock price of stablecoin issuer Circle once rose above $90, hitting a new high since last November. Bernstein analysts maintained an "Outperform" rating with a $190 price target, believing the company's expansion in infrastructure is bringing new, higher-margin revenue streams. Mizuho analysts also noted that as stablecoins find increased use in new scenarios like prediction markets, Circle's revenue structure is expected to further diversify.
ZachXBT Accuses Axiom Employee of Alleged Insider Trading Involvement
On-chain detective ZachXBT accused Broox Bauer, Senior Business Development Manager at the Axiom trading platform, of allegedly abusing internal system access for insider trading by tracking users' private wallet activities since early 2025. He also reportedly shared screenshots of internal dashboards on social media multiple times, leaking private wallet and registration information of several traders. Axiom was founded by Mist and Cal in 2024 and has generated over $390 million in revenue to date.
The Ethereum Foundation released the "strawmap" roadmap, outlining seven hard forks planned for 2026–2029. Key highlights include: reducing L1 finality from 16 minutes to a minimum of 8 seconds; targeting 10,000 TPS for L1 and approximately 10 million TPS for L2 networks; gradually reducing slot time from 12 seconds to a minimum of 2 seconds; introducing shielded transfers for private ETH transactions; and deploying a post-quantum cryptography scheme.
Industry News
US Representatives Scott Fitzgerald, Ben Cline, and Zoe Lofgren jointly introduced the "Blockchain Innovation Act of 2026," aiming to protect software developers from criminal liability under Title 18, Section 1960 of the US Code. It clarifies that the provision applies only to institutions controlling customer funds, not developers merely writing code. This distinction is precisely the core content the crypto industry (especially DeFi) has been pushing to include in the "Clarity Act."
The Hong Kong virtual currency trading platform AAX ceased operations in November 2022. Its head allegedly fled Hong Kong with virtual currency wallets and private keys before returning and being arrested. Hong Kong police stated that the head withdrew virtual currency worth approximately HK$633 million after the platform halted operations. He has been charged with 3 counts of theft and 1 count of fraud, with 191 victims suffering total losses of about HK$81 million.
Quantitative trading firm Jane Street was sued in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, accused of using non-public information to avoid over $200 million in potential losses before the Terra/Luna collapse in May 2022. The plaintiff alleges Jane Street obtained material non-public information through communications with the Terraform Labs team and conducted large trades. Jane Street denies the allegations. The current case involves 13 charges including insider trading and securities fraud.
According to Lookonchain monitoring, three hours before ZachXBT revealed the alleged insider trading by an Axiom employee, a suspected insider placed bets totaling $59,800 via two newly created wallets, profiting nearly $109,000.
Project News
MARA Expands into AI Data Center Business, Stock Rises 17% After Hours
Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings announced a partnership with Starwood Capital Group to build large-scale data centers for AI and cloud computing clients at its existing US mining sites. The initial phase is expected to provide approximately 1 gigawatt of computing capacity, with plans to expand to over 2.5 gigawatts in the future. Following the announcement, the company's stock rose about 17% in after-hours trading. MARA stated that Bitcoin will remain a core component of its long-term strategy.
Block Cuts About 40% of Workforce, Jack Dorsey Advances AI-First Strategy
Fintech company Block announced a large-scale layoff plan. Co-founder Jack Dorsey stated the company will cut nearly 4,000 positions, reducing total headcount from over 10,000 to under 6,000, to drive a leaner, flatter, and AI-centric organizational structure. Following the announcement, Block's stock rose over 20% in after-hours trading.
Huma Finance: HUMA Token Season 3 Airdrop Now Open for Claim
Huma Finance announced the HUMA token Season 3 airdrop is now open for claim, closing on March 26 at 21:00 (UTC+8). Withdrawing locked $PST or $mPST during the claim period will reduce allocations for the next season. Season 4 has simultaneously launched, with classic pools offering up to 13.4% APY and priority pools up to 21.5% APY. The next airdrop is expected in approximately three months.
Financing
World Bank's IFC to Invest $40 Million in Digital Infrastructure Zetrix AI
The World Bank Group announced that its International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest $40 million in digital infrastructure Zetrix AI. The new funds will support the development and promotion of blockchain-based deep information collection applications and AI products, while also exploring practical cross-border use cases for blockchain and AI in areas such as digital identity, customs clearance processes, large language models, and stablecoins.
Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company DeFi Development announced a strategic investment in the stablecoin protocol Apyx. The specific investment amount was not disclosed. The aim is to establish an early foothold in the emerging Dividend-Backed Stablecoin (DBS) category. Apyx's model can convert dividend streams into on-chain yield, providing scarce yield opportunities for the over $300 billion stablecoin market.
Voices
Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman stated at a Senate hearing that the Fed is advancing the GENIUS project and plans to "clarify the approach to digital assets, ensuring the banking system is capable of supporting digital asset-related activities." Bowman emphasized: "As a regulator, my job is to encourage innovation in a responsible way, while continuously enhancing supervisory capabilities to address safety and soundness risks that innovation may bring."
10x Research analysis pointed out that the core driver of Circle's stock price increase was not the earnings data itself, but a high-probability short-covering rally triggered by market positioning structure. Reportedly, a hedge fund established a large short position before the earnings release. As Circle's stock price soared, triggering a short squeeze, the hedge fund incurred approximately $500 million in losses in a single day. 10x Research stated that new market catalysts may soon emerge, after which market trading logic will revert to fundamentals.
Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi and former Co-founder Alexander Pack recently engaged in a public dispute on social media. Haseeb claimed that company development and scaling were gradually achieved only after he joined. Alexander Pack countered that Dragonfly had been co-founded by him and Feng Bo for over a year before Haseeb joined and had already committed to leading investments in projects like Bybit and Amber Group.
Axiom promotional partner Devin posted an apology on X, stating that he indeed risked his reputation previously but had no way of knowing ZachXBT would expose Axiom. Devin had repeatedly defended Axiom, placed a "NO" bet on Axiom on Polymarket, and publicly claimed "Axiom is not the company mentioned in ZachXBT's investigation."
360 Group founder Zhou Hongyi stated in an interview with Global Times that the United States, under the banner of "protecting victims' rights," converts seized virtual currency assets into strategic financial reserves under its own control. Zhou Hongyi believes that this unilateral harvesting behavior by the US not only causes secondary losses for victims but also interferes with the global flow of virtual currency assets, destabilizes the financial systems of emerging market countries, with the ultimate goal of consolidating the US dollar's hegemony in the digital finance field.
