24H Hot Cryptocurrencies and Key News｜ICE Invests in OKX at $25 Billion Valuation; Former CFTC Acting Chairman Appointed as President of Backpack US (March 6)
- Core View: The market exhibits a situation where mainstream assets are broadly declining while some individual assets show unusual movements. Concurrently, the industry has made significant progress in compliance, infrastructure, and technological innovation, with the integration of traditional financial institutions and the crypto space continuing to deepen.
- Key Elements:
- Market Dynamics: Mainstream cryptocurrencies generally declined, with BTC, ETH, SOL, etc., seeing 24-hour drops of 1-3%. However, individual tokens like BARD and OPN recorded gains exceeding 50% and even 263%.
- Regulation & Compliance: Former CFTC Acting Chairman Mark Wetjen joined Backpack, and SEC Chair Gary Gensler expressed anticipation for collaboration with the CFTC to advance the CLARITY Act, indicating a critical phase in the construction of the U.S. regulatory framework.
- Traditional Institutional Entry: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, invested in OKX at a $25 billion valuation. OKX plans to relocate a significant number of employees to the U.S. to advance tokenized stock trading.
- Technical Infrastructure: Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) emphasized the need for a comprehensive upgrade of market infrastructure to integrate tokenization innovations. China's independently developed blockchain technology has already been applied across multiple ministries and state-owned enterprises.
- Industry Investment: Tether continues to expand its investment portfolio, participating in funding rounds for German robotics company Neura and leading a round for AI sleep technology company Eight Sleep, venturing into the AI and hardware sectors.
- Potential Risks: U.S. cryptocurrency legislation is at an impasse due to banking industry opposition; advancements in quantum computing raise long-term concerns about the security of cryptographic algorithms.
1. Hot Tokens on CEXs
Top 10 CEX Tokens by Trading Volume and 24h Price Change:
- BTC: -1.88%
- ETH: -1.65%
- SOL: -1.66%
- XRP: -0.72%
- OPN: +263%
- BNB: -0.6%
- DOGE: -2.72%
- PAXG: -1.03%
- TRX: -0.8%
- BARD +50.73%
- ZEC: +8.88%
24h Top Gainers List (Data Source: OKX):
- BARD: +50.17%
- OKB: +27.05%
- HUMA: +26.98%
- KITE: +23.46%
- ZORA: +12.98%
- AGLD: +10.4%
- XPL: +7.57%
- PARTI: +7.12%
- MAGIC: +6.08%
- VELODROME: +5.8%
24h Top Gainers for Tokenized Stocks (Data Source: msx.com):
- Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares ETF - MSX: +1.95k%
- Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd - MSX: +11.86%
- Abits Group Inc - MSX: +11.83%
- Marvell Technology, Inc. - MSX: +11.13%
- T-Rex 2X Long MicroStrategy Daily Target ETF - MSX: +8.75%
- ProShares UltraShort Ether ETF - MSX: +7.31%
- Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. - MSX: +7.31%
- MongoDB, Inc - MSX: +6.45%
- Gemini Space Station, Inc. - MSX: +5.98%
- Astera Labs, Inc. - MSX: +5.92%
2. Top 5 On-Chain Meme Coins (Data Source: GMGN):
- Lobster (BSC)
- OPTIMUS (BSC)
- AGENT (BSC)
- Deadly Rival (BSC)
- YI PEPE (BSC)
Headlines
NYSE Parent ICE Invests in OKX at $25 Billion Valuation
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has invested in cryptocurrency exchange OKX at a $25 billion valuation. ICE declined to disclose the specific investment amount or terms but emphasized the shared vision for the future between the two companies. It is reported that OKX will provide ICE with real-time cryptocurrency price data and plans to offer its users trading of tokenized stocks and derivatives listed on the NYSE starting in the second half of 2026.
Crypto trading platform Backpack announced the appointment of Mark Wetjen, former Commissioner and Acting Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as President of Backpack US. Wetjen previously served as Global Head of Public Policy at the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and was an early advocate for establishing a clear regulatory framework and market infrastructure for the crypto industry. Backpack stated that Wetjen will lead the company's business expansion in the U.S., focusing on advancing compliant product development, regulatory cooperation, and market expansion to build compliant on-chain financial infrastructure connecting the crypto market with the traditional financial system.
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for Week Ending Feb 28 at 213K, vs. 215K Expected
U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending February 28 were 213,000, compared to an expectation of 215,000. The previous week's figure was revised from 212,000 to 213,000. U.S. Challenger Job Cuts for February were 48,307, compared to 108,435 in the previous month.
Industry News
Julia Leung, CEO of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), delivered a keynote speech at the 2026 ASIFMA EU-Asia Financial Services Dialogue. She stated that Hong Kong must thoroughly upgrade its market infrastructure, particularly in the fractionalization, clearing, and settlement of financial products. Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and tokenization developments provide a way forward. The true value of tokenization lies in its programmable nature, which can support a wide range of investment products, including bonds, funds, and even gold. As the tokenization ecosystem continues to grow, it is essential to effectively integrate related innovative projects, seamlessly combining market confidence in traditional finance with the efficiency of decentralized finance to further unlock liquidity.
Dong Jin, a deputy to the National People's Congress and President of the Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing, stated that China's independently innovated blockchain underlying technology has been applied in 16 central ministries and 27 central state-owned enterprises, achieving positive progress in areas such as taxation, cross-border trade, and global payments. Hundreds of billions of invoices are processed annually on China's independent blockchain, with over 300,000 enterprises involved in cross-border trade on-chain, reaching a trade volume of trillions of yuan. (CCTV News)
Reuters: U.S. Crypto Bill Hits New Stalemate, Future Uncertain
Negotiations on U.S. cryptocurrency legislation have hit a new stalemate. The banking industry has stated it cannot support a compromise proposal pushed by the White House, which would allow stablecoin issuers to offer yield products in specific scenarios like peer-to-peer payments but prohibit yield on idle holdings. Crypto companies have accepted this compromise, but banks still want stricter limits on the types of businesses allowed to offer rewards, arguing that the relevant provisions could trigger deposit outflows. Standard Chartered estimates that stablecoins could drain about $500 billion in deposits from the U.S. banking system by the end of 2028.
Iranian Military Official Says Strait of Hormuz Not Blocked
On the morning of the 5th local time, Amir Heydari, Deputy Commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, stated in an interview that Iran has not blocked the Strait of Hormuz. Heydari said Iran is currently handling ships passing through the strait in accordance with international rules and established agreements.
IRS Proposes Allowing Crypto Exchanges Like Coinbase to Submit Tax Forms Electronically
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed new rules on Thursday that would allow cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken to submit tax forms electronically, such as Form 1099‑DA which reports total proceeds from digital asset transactions. Previously, exchanges were required to provide a paper form option.
Project News
OKX Plans to Move Over 2,000 Employees to U.S. to Advance Tokenized Stock Trading Plan
Haider Rafique, Global Head of Corporate Affairs at OKX, stated that OKX plans to move up to 2,000 of its 5,000 employees to the United States, though no specific timeline was disclosed. "Especially to support this product, we will definitely invest heavily in the U.S.," he said, referring to the plan for trading tokenized stocks and other ICE assets.
Nasdaq-Listed YY Group Officially Launches Bitcoin Treasury Strategy
Nasdaq-listed YY Group announced the official launch of a Bitcoin treasury strategy, adopting Bitcoin as a primary reserve asset on its balance sheet to achieve capital preservation, balance sheet diversification, and a commitment to long-term shareholder value creation. The company will allocate a portion of its excess cash reserves to Bitcoin for long-term holding.
Quantum computing company PsiQuantum has commenced construction on a million-qubit quantum computing facility in Chicago. PsiQuantum co-founder Peter Shadbolt shared photos of the construction site on X on Thursday, stating that 500 tons of steel had been erected in six days. The company previously announced raising $1 billion in September to build the facility, partnering with chipmaker Nvidia with the goal of making quantum computing commercially practical to support next-generation AI supercomputers.
Scientists say the computing power of a million qubits is equivalent to tens of billions of ordinary computers, sufficient to crack Bitcoin's encryption.
Financing
German Robotics Startup Neura Raises ~€1 Billion, Tether Participates
German robotics startup Neura Robotics is raising approximately €1 billion (around $1.2 billion) in a funding round, with stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings SA participating. The funds will be used to develop AI-driven humanoid robots. This round values the company at around €4 billion, with further financing possible later.
Stablecoin company Tether led a $50 million strategic funding round in sleep tech startup Eight Sleep, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Eight Sleep focuses on sleep health products, covering bedding and supplements, and had previously raised $100 million in August last year.
On-Chain DEX Project QFEX Completes $9.5 Million Seed Round Led by General Catalyst
According to official news, on-chain contract trading platform QFEX has completed a $9.5 million seed funding round. This round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from Y Combinator, Paul Graham, Nexus Venture Partners, Moonfire VC, Goodwater Capital, Liquid 2 Ventures, 468 Capital, Ritual VC, and other well-known institutions and angel investors.
Digital Asset Trading Firm Crossover Markets Completes $31 Million Series B Led by Tradeweb
Digital asset trading firm Crossover Markets announced the completion of a $31 million Series B funding round at a $200 million valuation. The round was led by cross-asset class electronic trading platform Tradeweb, with participation from DRW Venture Capital, Ripple, Virtu Financial, Wintermute Ventures, XTX Markets, and Illuminate Financial, among others.
Tether Invests in Fund Management and Settlement Infrastructure Axiym
Stablecoin issuer Tether announced an investment in fund management and settlement infrastructure Axiym. The specific amount was not disclosed. The aim is to build a global distributed fund settlement infrastructure within a regulated payment ecosystem to support embedded financial services.
Voices
Bridgewater Founder: Everyone Should Allocate at Least 5% to Gold
On Tuesday Eastern Time, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio once again publicly expressed strong optimism for gold. He stated that in the competition between gold and Bitcoin, there is a clear winner—gold. He emphasized that gold's position is irreplaceable. Dalio recommends having 5% to 15% of one's investment portfolio in gold to diversify risk in times of disaster.
SEC Chair States: Looking Forward to Working with CFTC Chair to Advance CLARITY Act
U.S. SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated on X that President Trump is right, the U.S. needs clear rules for digital asset market regulation. The CLARITY Act helps ensure entrepreneurs develop the next generation of financial technology domestically. Looking forward to working with Mike Selig (CFTC Chair) to advance the implementation of the CLARITY Act in the near future.
