Tag: Business – Decrypt

NASA is shifting the focus of its Artemis Moon program toward building a permanent base on the lunar surface.

The agency said on Tuesday the change reflects a broader strategy to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon as a “foundation for an enduring lunar base and the next step toward Mars.”

During a presentation at the NASA “Ignition” event in Washington, D.C., NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the space agency is placing greater emphasis on surface operations to support technology testing, scientific research, and preparation for Mars missions.

“Shifting NASA workforce priority to the surface has advantages for safety, technology demonstration, and science,” Isaacman said. “The surface is really the proving ground for future Mars initiatives.”

Under the revised plan, NASA will pause development of the orbiting Gateway station and redirect funding and engineering resources toward lunar surface infrastructure. However, Isaacman said the move “does not preclude revisiting the orbital outpost in the future.”

Three phases

In phase one, the agency will shift from infrequent lunar missions to a repeatable approach using the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and the Lunar Terrain Vehicle initiative. Robotic landings will deliver rovers, instruments, and technology demonstrations to test mobility, power systems, communications, navigation, and other surface operations.

“We will dramatically expand lunar landings through the CLPS and LTV programs, delivering rovers, instruments, and technology payloads,” Isaacman said. Phase one, he added, is about “moving from infrequent, bespoke efforts to a templated approach that will generate significant learning through experimentation.”

In phase two, NASA plans to deploy semi-habitable infrastructure and routine logistics to support regular astronaut operations on the Moon.

Canada, Italy, and Japan will contribute to building the lunar base, including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s pressurized rover, Italy’s multi-purpose habitation module, and Canada’s Lunar Utility Vehicle.

In phase three, NASA will deliver heavier infrastructure needed to sustain a long-term human presence on the Moon as cargo-capable landing systems come online, the agency said.

“The moon base will not appear overnight,” Isaacman said. “We will invest approximately $20 billion over the next seven years and build it through dozens of missions, working together with commercial and international partners toward a deliberate and achievable plan.”

Beyond its Moon operation, NASA said it plans to launch Space Reactor-1 Freedom, a nuclear-powered spacecraft, to Mars by 2028. The mission aims to test nuclear electric propulsion, which officials say is needed to transport heavy cargo to deep-space destinations where solar power is limited.

NASA’s announcement comes as a new space race ramps up, with companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX pursuing their own missions to the Moon and Mars.

Last year, Musk said the company planned to launch its massive Starship rocket to Mars by the end of 2026, carrying Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots.

The shift also alters NASA’s upcoming flight plans. Artemis III, originally scheduled for 2024, is now planned for 2027. Artemis IV, which would follow in 2028, is billed as “humanity’s return to the lunar surface” and would launch with a crewed lunar landing.

After Artemis V, NASA said it plans to transition to sending crews to the Moon twice a year.

“The goal is not just to reach the Moon, but to stay,” the White House wrote on X, adding that America “will never give up the Moon again.”

NASA did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s Request for comment.

Stablecoin issuer Circle saw its stock take a 20% dive Tuesday following a double shot of potentially concerning news for the firm behind the prominent USDC stablecoin.

As of the close of trading, CRCL changed hands for $101.24, falling just over 20% on the day—and it’s ticking down further in after-hours trading thus far, as of this writing. Shares of the closely aligned crypto exchange Coinbase also fell nearly 10% on the day, finishing at $181.04.

Early Tuesday, stablecoin rival Tether—issuer of the largest stablecoin by market cap, USDT—said that it had agreed to undergo a full audit by an unnamed “Big Four” accounting firm, one of the last potential hurdles to compliance with the U.S. GENIUS Act. That could make Tether a bigger domestic threat to Circle in the future.

Circle’s share price may also have been impacted by the latest developments with another piece of legislation, the proposed Clarity Act market structure bill that’s still being revised by lawmakers. Crypto lobbyists reviewed compromise language regarding stablecoin yield on Monday, with the banking lobby currently reviewing to see if they’ll get onboard with the version of the language put together by Senators Alsobrooks and Tillis and the White House.

Speculation over the reported Clarity Act draft has echoed across social media as crypto industry players grapple with the potential impacts if restrictions on stablecoin yield make it into the final version of the bill—and it’s ultimately passed.

At the time of writing, Coinbase has been offering 3.5% rewards for USDC balances held on its premium Coinbase One platform. The company just ended its USDC rewards program for free exchange users in December. At the time, it had been advertising 4.5% rewards for Coinbase One users, but has since adjusted its rewards rate.

Coinbase competitor Kraken has been offering up to 5% rewards on USDC balances held on its platform. And Binance, the largest centralized crypto exchange by volume, pays users 5.63% on USDC balances held in its wallets. Binance used to offer its own stablecoin, BUSD, but stopped minting new tokens after its issuing partner Paxos ran afoul of New York regulators, who alleged the firm hadn’t done enough due diligence.

Analysts have otherwise been optimistic about Circle. The company’s shares have gained 170% since early February, far outpacing other crypto stocks and the struggling broader stock market.

Just last week, Clear Street analyst Owen Lau raised the firm’s price target for CRCL to $152 after noting that Mastercard’s $1.8 billion acquisition of BVNK, a stablecoin payments infrastructure firm, was bullish for the space.

The CRCL surge had also been driven by a blowout earnings report. Circle announced 72% growth in its USDC stablecoin to $75.3 billion and 77% revenue growth to $770 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, triggering a 35% single-day gain that rippled across crypto markets.

A higher-for-longer interest-rate outlook, reinforced by geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices, had also boosted Circle’s earnings prospects, since the company earns substantial interest on reserves backing its USDC stablecoin.

At the time of writing, there’s more than $78 billion worth of USDC tokens in circulation, and an equivalent worth of cash or cash-like investments being held by its issuer to back those stablecoins.

OpenAI will shut down Sora, its AI video-generation platform that allowed users to create short videos from text prompts, as it pivots to “world simulation research to advance robotics,” the company told Decrypt on Tuesday.

The decision to end its standalone generative video product appears to also disrupt a planned entertainment partnership with Disney tied to the app.

“As we continue to focus on our roadmap to AGI and the compute needed to deliver agentic AI capabilities, we’re making the tough decision to discontinue supporting Sora as a consumer app and API offerings,” the company added.

No changes will be made to the AI Image Generator inside ChatGPT, OpenAI confirmed.

OpenAI said it will share more information soon, including timelines for shutting down the app and its API and details on how users can preserve their work.

The fallout from OpenAI’s announcement has been swift.

A proposed $1 billion investment from Disney connected to Sora is no longer moving forward after OpenAI announced it would shut down the app, according to a report by Deadline.

OpenAI first introduced Sora in February 2024 as a text‑to‑video model that could turn written prompts into short clips.

The company later expanded the technology with Sora 2, a more advanced model released alongside a standalone Sora mobile app.

“When we released Sora, our goal was to teach AI to understand and simulate the physical world in motion,” the company said. “We will continue to prioritize longer-term world simulation research, especially as it pertains to robotics and helping people solve problems that require real-world interaction.

While OpenAI’s entry into video generation was highly anticipated, it became a consistent money drain for the company, reportedly costing about $15 million per day.

The Sora iOS app introduced a social-style video feed where users could generate and share AI-created clips.

It also included “cameos,” a feature that allowed users to insert themselves into AI-generated scenes after recording a short video to capture their likeness and voice.

Sora quickly drew scrutiny as it became widely available.

Legal experts warned the system could recreate recognizable characters and copyrighted franchises, raising intellectual property concerns.

Researchers also warned that Sora could be used to spread misinformation, noting that the system produced realistic-looking news footage depicting events that never happened, including of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wearing a cat suit.

Critics also argued that tools like Sora, designed to generate and distribute low-quality synthetic media, also known as AI slop, could flood the internet.

In December, OpenAI and Disney announced a three-year agreement that would have allowed the company to license roughly 250 Disney characters from franchises including Frozen, Star Wars, and Marvel for use in AI-generated videos.

“This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences,” Altman said in a statement at the time.

Disney said it respects OpenAI’s decision to exit the video-generation business and will continue exploring other ways to work with generative AI.

“We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators,” a Disney spokesperson reportedly said.

Editor’s note: Adds comments from OpenAI

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) wants to create clear rules within U.S. derivatives markets for those building with new technologies, and has unveiled a new task force to help do so. 

The newly established CFTC Innovation Task Force will work alongside the Commission to develop those frameworks specifically for builders in crypto and blockchain, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and prediction markets. 

“By establishing a clear regulatory framework for innovators building on the new frontier of finance, we can foster responsible innovation at home and ensure American market participants are not left on the sidelines,” said CFTC Chairman Michael Selig, in a statement. 

The task force will be led by Selig’s senior advisor, Michael J. Passalacqua, and said it will coordinate with agencies like the SEC and the SEC’s Crypto Task Force on innovation initiatives. 

“Under Chairman Selig, the Innovation Task Force (ITF) will provide clarity to builders by advancing the CFTC’s innovation agenda across crypto, AI, and prediction markets,” Passalacqua posted on X. 

The regulator has been busy in March, particularly as it relates to its relationship with prediction markets and their rapid growth. Under Selig’s leadership, it recently published a letter that guided registered exchanges on compliance and product requirements for event contracts, those used on prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. 

The CFTC is also inviting public comment about whether or not it needs to amend or write new rules on prediction market oversight.

Those moves come amid intensifying scrutiny around prediction markets, highlighted by a push by Democratic lawmakers and concerns over insider trading and event contracts tied to things like terrorism and war. 

To that end, both Kalshi and Polymarket made public moves on Monday to address insider trading on their platforms. For Kalshi, that meant adding preemptive screening for politicians and individuals working in sports and ensuring they cannot trade on markets related to them. 

Similarly, Polymarket took steps to clarify its rules around insider trading as it enhanced its market integrity terms. 

The regulator has remained adamant that it is the governing body for prediction markets, with Chairman Selig recently saying to those that challenge the CFTC over jurisdiction—including states—that his agency would “see you in court.” 

The remark comes as states begin to challenge prediction markets over their offerings, like in Arizona, where the state filed charges against Kalshi for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation. Also last week, Nevada secured a temporary ban against Kalshi, blocking the startup from offering sports, politics, and entertainment event contracts in the state for at least 14 days.

Earlier this month, the CFTC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Major League Baseball, which will see the parties work together to limit markets that may pose “integrity risk.” 

Beyond prediction markets, the CFTC made a major ruling last week that gives self-custodial wallet Phantom the ability to offer its users access to derivatives markets without registering as a broker. 

A court in the Southern District of Indiana sentenced Russian citizen Aleksei Volkov, 26, to 81 months in prison Monday for assisting major cybercrime groups including the Yanluowang ransomware group in attacks that caused over $9 million in actual losses and over $24 million in intended losses across the United States.

Volkov, of St. Petersburg, Russia, operated as an “initial access broker”—a specialist who gains unauthorized access to corporate networks and sells that access to other threat actors, according to court documents. His buyers used the access to deploy ransomware that encrypted victims’ data, then demanded cryptocurrency payments—”sometimes in the tens of millions of dollars”—in exchange for restoring access and not publishing stolen data on leak sites.

On November 25, 2025, Volkov pleaded guilty to four counts from the Southern District of Indiana indictment—unlawful transfer of a means of identification, trafficking in access information, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft—plus two counts from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania indictment for conspiracy to commit computer fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Police in Rome, Italy, had arrested Volkov before his extradition to the United States.

As part of his plea agreement, Volkov admitted that he and co-conspirators “demanded tens of millions of dollars in ransom and received millions,” with Volkov receiving a share of cryptocurrency ransom payments. The court ordered him to pay full restitution including almost $9.2 million to known victims and to forfeit equipment used in his crimes.

Ransomware and crypto

Ransomware, often leveraging cryptocurrency for payment, remains a challenge for the crypto space. Per Chainalysis’ 2026 Crypto Crime Report, on-chain ransomware payments totaled $820 million in 2025, down 8% year-on-year, while claimed attacks increased by 50% and the median ransom payment grew 368% year-over-year to nearly $60,000.

In recent months, ransomware developers have turned to blockchain smart contracts as a distribution channel, including the DeadLock ransomware strain that leverages Polygon smart contracts for proxy server address rotation and distribution, and EtherHiding, which targets BNB Smart Chain and Ethereum smart contracts.

Tether, the world’s top stablecoin issuer, announced Tuesday it will soon make good on a yearslong promise to audit its sprawling stablecoin reserves—but won’t yet disclose which firm will actually do the job.

Tether claims to hold some $192 billion in assets in reserve around the world to back the value of its dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDT. The majority of those reserves are purported to be held in U.S. Treasuries.

But, ever since its founding in 2014, the company has refrained from undergoing an audit from a Big Four accounting firm to confirm the accuracy of its reserve claims. It has instead relied on attestations reviewed by an Italian accounting firm that has never directly examined Tether’s accounts and holdings.

Today, the company announced it has signed a deal with a Big Four accounting firm to “complete its first full independent financial statement audit.” But Tether did not state which firm, and a Tether representative declined comment when reached by Decrypt.

The Big Four accounting firms—Deloitte, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG—are the world’s largest auditors, and are widely regarded as providing a certain standard of rigor and transparency when engaged by major corporations.

Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, told Decrypt last year he planned on putting Tether through a Big Four audit, but that the process was taking time given the company’s size.

The GENIUS Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump last summer, requires all foreign stablecoin issuers—theoretically including Tether, which is based in El Salvador—to undergo rigorous audits of its stablecoin reserves. Ardoino said last year he intends for USDT to comply with the law. A Big Four audit would go a long way to achieving that goal.

Last fall, Tether launched an American offshoot with its own, U.S.-specific stablecoin, USAT. The token launched in January, and currently boasts a far smaller market capitalization than Tether’s flagship token: just $27 million, compared to USDT’s $184 billion.

USAT’s far smaller reserves were successfully audited by Deloitte a month later.

Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication to note that Tether declined comment.

The New York Stock Exchange said Tuesday that it’s collaborating with Securitize, the BlackRock-backed tokenization specialist, on a program aimed at accelerating Wall Street’s shift toward trading infrastructure underpinned by digital assets.

As part of the arrangement, the world’s largest stock exchange by market capitalization will work with Securitize on developing standards for tokens that represent real-world assets like stocks and bonds, as well as exchange-traded funds, according to a joint press release.

Securitize is also slated to serve as the first digital transfer agent for NYSE’s Digital Trading Platform, the companies said. That will enable Securitize to create “blockchain-native securities” on the NYSE-affiliated platform, which is designed to facilitate round-the-clock trading.

The collaboration comes as the latest sign that giants in traditional finance are growing serious about perceived opportunities with blockchain-based trading infrastructure. Last year, SEC Chair Paul Atkins unveiled Project Crypto, describing it as an agency-wide initiative to develop rules and regulations that “enable America’s financial markets to move on-chain.”

Last week, Nasdaq gained approval from the watchdog for a pilot program involving tokenized securities. The system is expected to keep trading and settlement within traditional market rails through coordination with a subsidiary of Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.

As experimentation with tokenization intensified last year, Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo told Decrypt that the only way to truly represent securities on-chain is through “native” tokenization. That means a token representing a stock, for example, would carry the same rights as its traditional counterpart, including the ability to vote or receive dividends.

Transfer agents typically record ownership of securities in “book-entry” form using centralized databases. Securitize uses a black-chain based system for that instead, including BlackRock’s $2 billion tokenized money-market fund BUIDL, which primarily exists on Ethereum.

“We are proud to support NYSE in helping design the foundational transfer agent infrastructure,” Domingo said in a statement. “This is about building tokenization in a way that works within real market structure, with the protections, controls, and operational integrity.”

Last month, World Liberty Financial, the DeFi project backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, tapped Securitize for issuing tokens tied to the development of a luxury Maldivian resort.

In October, the firm backed by the world’s largest asset manager unveiled plans to list on the Nasdaq at a $1.25 billion valuation. Before the president was elected on a pro-crypto platform, BlackRock led a $47 million strategic funding round for Securitize in 2024

The Solana Foundation on Tuesday unveiled a new developer platform aimed at making it easier for banks, payments companies, and other financial institutions to build products on its blockchain network, announcing partnerships with three major financial firms at launch.

The Solana Developer Platform, or SDP, bundles together infrastructure from more than 20 technology partners into a single, API-driven interface designed to lower the technical barriers enterprises typically face when building on blockchain networks. The platform is structured around three core modules covering the issuance of digital assets, payment orchestration, and trading—though the trading module is not expected to go live until later this year.

Mastercard, Western Union, and Worldpay have joined as early users of the platform, according to the announcement, each deploying it for distinct purposes.

Mastercard is using SDP to enable stablecoin settlement on the Solana network, while Worldpay, the payments processing giant, is applying it to merchant payments and settlement. Western Union, whose core business has long been cross-border money transfers, is exploring how the platform can extend its existing capabilities onto the blockchain.

“The next phase of digital asset innovation will be defined by practical use cases that integrate seamlessly with existing financial systems,” said Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s executive VP of blockchain and digital assets, in a statement.

“As an early user of Solana Developer Platform, we’re helping enable direct stablecoin settlement for customers on select blockchain networks—beginning with Solana—combining the speed and programmability of blockchain with the reliability, security and global reach of the Mastercard network,” he added.

The platform draws on infrastructure partners across four categories: node infrastructure providers such as Alchemy and QuickNode, custody wallet solutions including Fireblocks and Coinbase, compliance tools from firms like Chainalysis and Elliptic, and payment ramp services. The platform launched in a sandbox environment built on Solana’s test network, with broader availability expected to follow.

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. And check out our new daily news show covering all of the top stories in 5 minutes or less, downloadable on Apple Pod or Spotify.

GM!

Today’s top news:

• Crypto majors grind higher, SOL leads; BTC +1% at $71k
• Saylor gets access to another $42B+ in MSTR and STRC ATM programs
• Congressmen introduce bipartisan bill banning sports betting in pred markets
• Polymarket introduces referral program and new fee structure
• Elizabeth Warren comes after Mr. Beast’s new banking app and potential crypto tie in

₿ Strategy Unveils a $44B Equity Plan to Buy More Bitcoin

Strategy said it can now issue $44 billion in additional equity to fund future Bitcoin purchases, split across $21 billion of common stock (MSTR), $21 billion of STRC, and $2.1 billion of STRK.

The move is designed to keep feeding Strategy’s Bitcoin-buying machine, even as the pace of purchases briefly slowed.

Notably, STRC accounts for nearly half of the total authorization. The company recently boosted STRC’s monthly dividend to 11.5%, leading to a spike in demand that helped fuel Saylor’s large buys earlier this month.

Bitcoin did not react to the news, holding at $70,500 on the day.

Key Details

• Strategy can issue $44B in fresh equity.
• The authorization includes $21B MSTR, $21B STRC, and $2.1B STRK.
• STRC has enabled Strategy to raise more than $1.5B this month.

🏛 Congress Moves to Ban Sports Bets on Prediction Markets

The Wall Street Journal reported that lawmakers are preparing a bipartisan bill to ban sports betting on prediction market platforms.

That would directly target one of the fastest-growing use cases for firms like Kalshi and Polymarket, both of which have pushed aggressively into sports-related markets.

For context of how big this is, Kalshi’s weekly sports volume makes up 70-85% of its total handle and Polymarket’s sports volume is 35-40% of its total.

And the timing is notable, with Kalshi fresh off the news of its latest $22B fundraise.

State gaming regulators argue these products are sports betting and should be treated like gambling. The platforms argue they are federally regulated event contracts and belong under derivatives oversight instead.

Congress now appears ready to test that question directly with legislation.

Key Details

• WSJ reported the bill would be bipartisan and would target sports bets on prediction markets, not the entire category.
• Kalshi’s sports volume makes up 70-85% of its total volume across platforms.
• The timing is notable because prediction markets have just had a major momentum streak, with large new partnerships, rising volumes, and fresh private-market funding.

🕵️ Polymarket and Kalshi Make Series of Announcements

It was a busy day for prediction markets, beyond the WSJ report of the new bipartisan bill.

Polymarket previously hyped a big announcement coming Monday, and it delivered…a new referral program. They also bundled in a new fee structure, varying by market sector and probability with a peak fee of 1.8% (for crypto markets).

Polymarket also updated its insider-trading rules and emphasized a “multi-layered monitoring system” for suspicious activity, while Kalshi has also been tightening controls as the sector faces more political and regulatory attention.

Kalshi is banning athletes, coaches and politicians from betting on their own markets in an effort to prevent insider trading.

And Polymarket recently said it is working with Palantir to build surveillance systems for sports-focused prediction markets.

Key Details

• Polymarket’s new referral program includes traders >$10k in volume and will include up to 30% rewards
• Polymarket’s new fee structure varies by market type and peaks at 1.8%
• Kalshi banned athletes, coaches and politicians from trading

🏀 Coinbase Users Blast March Madness Push Notifications

Coinbase users complained after receiving repeated March Madness push notifications encouraging them to make sports-related predictions. The backlash on X got large enough to become a trending topic, with multiple users arguing the notifications felt more like sports-gambling ads than a normal crypto exchange experience.

Coinbase’s app homepage was prominently featuring March Madness promotion at the top of the screen, while some users said they were getting several notifications a day.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong replied that the criticism was “a fair point” and said more customization options would be added.

Key Details

• Users complained about receiving multiple push notifications per day.
• Coinbase’s app homepage was also featuring a March Madness ad prominently.
• Armstrong responded publicly and promised more customization options.

🧒 Elizabeth Warren Presses MrBeast Over Crypto in a Teen Banking App

Senator Elizabeth Warren is pressing Beast Industries over whether crypto could be pushed through Step, the teen-focused banking app tied to MrBeast.

Warren sent a 12-page letter focused on Step’s previous crypto activity and raised concerns about how a large youth audience could be exposed if crypto features returned.

Step had previously marketed itself as the first U.S. platform to let teens, with parental consent, buy digital assets such as Bitcoin, and later expanded that access to dozens of crypto assets and NFTs.

Key Details

• Warren’s letter is 12 pages long and focuses heavily on Step’s prior crypto activity.
• Step previously let teens buy crypto with parental consent.
• Beast Industries recently received a $200M investment from BitMine.

🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets

• Crypto majors are slightly green after yesterday’s major bounce; BTC +1% at $71k; ETH +2% at $2,165; SOL +3% at $92
• APT (+12%), TAO (+11%), and ZRO (+8%) led top movers
• Oil held steady at $90; Gold also flat at $4,410
• Nasdaq partnered with institutional crypto infra firm Talos to connect crypto trading and risk tools with its Calypso platform, the same system banks and funds use to manage collateral and surveillance across stocks and bonds
• Former Kalshi employees are raising $35M for a new prediction market venture fund, backed by both the Kalshi and Polymarket CEOs
• ParaFi Capital raised $125M for a new venture fund focused on stablecoins, tokenization, and institutional on-chain finance

Corporate Treasuries & ETFs

Meme Coin Tracker

• Meme majors were mixed; DOGE +2%, SHIB +1%, PEPE +1%, TRUMP flat, PENGU flat, SPX -1%, FARTCOIN -3%
• 7 Wanderers (+75x), Punch (+50%), LOL (+40%) and testicle (+33%) led top movers

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

• Polymarket introduced a new referral program with 30% rewards for direct referrals and 10% for indirect and hinted at eligibility for “all future rewards” along with a new fee structure for its markets
• MoonPay released its OpenWallet Standard as open source, a unified protocol that lets AI agents handle keys, wallets, and transaction signing across all major blockchains
• The Backpack Exchange token launched yesterday, opening at $400M FDV before falling to $200M; Mad Lads received a BP token airdrop
• Balancer Labs is winding down six months after a November exploit drained $128M across six blockchains in 30 minutes from its V2 Vault contract

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

• NFT leaders were mostly mixed; Punks -3% at 28.5 ETH, Pudgy +1% at 4.15 ETH, BAYC +4% at 5.35 ETH; Hypurr’s +1% at 405 HYPE
• Normies (+60%) led notable movers
• Pudgy World officially lau

AI-focused altcoins led a market-wide rally Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would “postpone” planned strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure, triggering a cascade of short liquidations.

Bittensor’s TAO token jumped 10.2%, while Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) and Render (RENDER) gained 6.2% and 4.8%, respectively, over 24 hours. Aptos (APT), LayerZero (ZRO), and World Liberty Financial (WLFI) also posted significant moves as the total crypto market cap topped $2.5 trillion, according to CoinGecko data.

The immediate catalyst was President Donald Trump’s announcement of a five-day pause on strikes against Iran’s power plants, along with claims of “productive conversations” between the U.S. and Iran. Trump’s statement sent oil prices tumbling over 13%, sparking a relief rally across risk assets.

However, Iran’s foreign ministry said there was “no dialogue” between Tehran and Washington, a statement subsequently echoed by Iran parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The remarks sparked a volatile environment that sent oil back over $100 a barrel and led to over $670 million in liquidations across the crypto market over a 24 hour period. Short positions accounted for $370 million—more than half of the total.

That short squeeze propagated “hardest into higher-beta names where positioning was already most compressed,” Derek Lim, head of research at crypto market-making firm Caladan, told Decrypt.

He also pointed to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s GTC conference last week as a second catalyst. The convergence of the two events added tailwinds to the AI sector, he said.

Despite the sharp gains, a broad-based altcoin rally remains unlikely, Decrypt previously reported. Instead, any “alt season” is expected to mature and be limited to a narrow sector of narrative- and fundamental-driven tokens.

Looking ahead

“Conflicting statements around the Iran war are increasing uncertainty, which fuels risk aversion,” Illia Otychenko, lead analyst at cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO, told Decrypt. “That uncertainty is keeping oil prices elevated and lowering expectations for rate cuts.”

For now, with both oil prices and Treasury yields rising, inflation remains a key concern, he said. That dynamic is “not that bad for Bitcoin due to its store-of-value narrative.”

Still, Bitcoin continues to hold steady around $71,000 and is up 0.3% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data.

Otychenko warned that the bigger risk would be if oil prices and Treasury yields start moving in different directions. “That would create a more complex macro backdrop that could test Bitcoin’s store-of-value narrative as it would put significant pressure on most assets except bonds and the U.S. dollar.”

Users on prediction market Myriad, owned by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan, reflected the growing uncertainty, assigning only a 44% chance to a spring crypto rally.