SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

Crypto Cards Roundup March 17 - Mastercard Signs 85 Partners, RedotPay Lands Two Licenses, MetaMask Goes Polymarket Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-cards-roundup-march-17-2026/

Michael Saylor's Strategy bought 22,337 BTC at $70,194 average, funded by preferred and common stock sales. Total holdings: 761,068 BTC worth $57.6 billion. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/strategy-buys-22337-bitcoin-1-57-billion-761000-btc-total-holdings-saylor-preferred-stock/

Australia's Senate committee endorses the Digital Assets Framework Bill, requiring crypto exchanges and custody providers to obtain financial services licenses. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/australian-senate-committee-crypto-licensing-bill-digital-assets-framework-six-months-comply/

Crypto lender BlockFills filed Chapter 11 in Delaware with up to $500M in liabilities after a $75M loan loss, frozen withdrawals, and a commingling lawsuit. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/blockfills-chapter-11-bankruptcy-500-million-liabilities-75-million-loan-loss-dominion-capital-commingling/

Japan's largest corporate Bitcoin holder raised $531M in new capital to keep buying BTC, despite holding 35,102 coins at a 32% loss. Here is what the math looks like. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/metaplanet-531-million-capital-raise-bitcoin-treasury-35102-btc-unrealized-loss-100000-target/

Bitcoin reclaims $73,800 and Ethereum surges 14% in a week as $300M in short positions get wiped out. Fear and Greed climbs from 8 to 41. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/300-million-shorts-liquidated-bitcoin-ethereum-6-week-highs-fear-greed-recovery/

The SEC dismissed its civil fraud case against BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji with prejudice, adding to a growing list of crypto enforcement retreats. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sec-drops-bitclout-fraud-case-nader-al-naji-257-million-with-prejudice-deso/

Wu Blockchain reports Coinbase is negotiating a minority equity stake in Bybit, giving the offshore exchange a path into the US market. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coinbase-bybit-25-billion-minority-stake-us-market-entry-wu-blockchain-deribit-okx/

Aave Shield will auto-block swaps with over 25% price impact. The post mortem pins the $50M loss on illiquid markets, but CoW Swap says multiple systems failed. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/aave-shield-25-percent-price-impact-block-post-mortem-50-million-swap-cow-protocol-sushiswap/

An attacker accumulated 84% of Thena's THE supply cap on Venus Protocol, manipulated the price, and borrowed $3.7M in CAKE, BTC, and BNB before anyone noticed. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/venus-protocol-3-7-million-supply-cap-exploit-thena-the-token-bnb-chain-price-manipulation/

The Ethereum Foundation sold 5,000 ETH for $10.2M to BitMine in its second corporate OTC deal, as BitMine keeps buying despite $7.8B in unrealized losses. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ethereum-foundation-sells-10-million-eth-bitmine-otc-deal-treasury-management-second-corporate-sale/

Ethereum's circulating supply has crossed 121 million ETH, reversing the deflationary thesis that followed the Merge. Blob fees and low activity are the culprits. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ethereum-supply-crosses-121-million-one-million-eth-added-since-merge-ultrasound-money-dead/

Jacob and Co partnered with GoMining on a $40,000 luxury watch that grants 1,000 terahashes of Bitcoin mining power. Only 100 exist. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/jacob-co-gomining-40000-bitcoin-mining-watch-epic-x-1000-terahash-luxury-crypto/

Artemis data shows crypto lending deposits dropped from $125B to $79B, but Aave hit 155K monthly users and $1T in cumulative loans. Price erosion, not flight. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-lending-deposits-drop-125-billion-to-79-billion-artemis-defi-tvl-aave-record-users/

February 2026 crypto losses fell to $26-49M from $385M in January. The catch: social engineering now causes more damage than smart contract exploits. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-losses-drop-87-percent-february-2026-hackers-shift-phishing-social-engineering/

US forces struck military targets on Kharg Island, Iran's main crude export hub. Oil topped $100. Bitcoin held $71,000. Here is what the market is pricing in. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/us-bombs-kharg-island-iran-oil-terminal-bitcoin-holds-71000-trump-conditional-escalation/

USDC reaches $81.1B all-time high supply while processing 70% of stablecoin volume in February. AI agents settled 140M transactions in USDC this year. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/usdc-supply-81-billion-all-time-high-overtakes-usdt-transaction-volume-ai-agents-circle/

Iranian drone debris struck the DIFC Innovation Hub, Token2049 is postponed to 2027, and crypto traders are leaving Dubai as the war reshapes the industry's favorite hub. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/dubai-difc-drone-debris-token2049-cancelled-crypto-hub-iran-war-evacuations/

KRAKacquisition Corp is actively searching for crypto-native acquisition targets valued between 2 and 10 billion dollars, with stablecoins and DeFi in focus. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/kraken-spac-krakacquisition-345-million-hunting-10-billion-crypto-acquisition-stablecoins-defi/

A federal appeals court ends Custodia's five-year fight for a Fed master account, just days after Kraken became the first crypto firm to get one. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/custodia-bank-loses-final-fed-appeal-7-3-vote-kraken-master-account-skinny-access/

TRUMP meme coin rallied 50% to $4.29 with $1.14B in volume after announcing a Mar-a-Lago gala luncheon for the top 297 token holders on April 25. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/trump-meme-coin-surges-50-percent-mar-a-lago-dinner-top-297-holders-april-gala/

US Q4 GDP grew just 0.7% annualized vs the 1.4% estimate. Bitcoin climbed to $72,853 as markets price in faster Fed rate cuts. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/us-q4-gdp-misses-estimate-half-percent-bitcoin-rallies-73000-fed-rate-cuts/

Hong Kong is granting its first stablecoin licenses to HSBC, Standard Chartered, and OSL as early as March 24, chosen from 36 applicants under the Stablecoins Ordinance. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/hsbc-standard-chartered-hong-kong-stablecoin-licenses-hkma-march-2026-osl-animoca/

Tether aims to complete its first full audit by the end of 2026, per Bloomberg. After a decade of attestations, 189 billion in USDT reserves faces real scrutiny. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/tether-aims-full-audit-end-of-2026-bloomberg-big-four-usdt-189-billion-reserves/

Alibaba leads MetaComp's $35M raise as the MAS-licensed stablecoin platform hits $10B in volume and plans StableX Network expansion across Asia and beyond. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/alibaba-metacomp-35-million-stablecoin-platform-singapore-stablex-network-cross-border/