Weekly Recap｜Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Drops 7.76%, BlackRock’s Staked ETH Fund Surpasses $250M in F
2026.03.23
Weekly Overview (Mar 16 – Mar 23)
Last week, market movements continued to be driven by macroeconomic developments. Ongoing geopolitical tensions and energy shocks further intensified volatility across global financial markets, adding to overall economic uncertainty.
Inflationary pressure has resurfaced, while the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing stance remains paused, prompting markets to increasingly price in the possibility of further rate hikes. These headwinds have significantly constrained the upside potential of risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
The total crypto market capitalization stood at $2.41 trillion, down approximately 5.12% week-over-week. As expectations continue to shift, market focus is gradually moving away from short-term sentiment shocks toward longer-term secondary impacts.
This report provides a concise recap of last week’s key developments in the crypto industry and a preview of the major trends and events in the week ahead.
Market Pulse
Opera is seeking to acquire 160 million CELO tokens within three years, potentially becoming a core stakeholder in the Celo ecosystem.
Bitcoin mining difficulty decreased by 7.76% to 133.79T.
Coinbase launched U.S. equities perpetual futures for eligible traders outside the United States.
A UK parliamentary committee called for an immediate ban on political parties accepting crypto donations.
U.S. Democratic lawmakers proposed banning officials from using insider information in prediction markets.
A South Korean court rejected the Flow Foundation’s request to halt the delisting of FLOW by three major exchanges.
Funding & M&A
A total of 11 funding rounds were recorded last week, raising over $1.08 billion, mainly across DeFi and AI sectors:
Ironlight raised $21 million to expand compliant tokenized securities infrastructure.
Gency AI secured $20 million to build a decentralized advertising network.
Singapore-based stablecoin payment infrastructure firm Dtcpay completed a $10 million Series A round.
Cross-border stablecoin payment platform TransFi raised $19.2 million.
Republic received new funding from Hamilton Lane, bringing its total funding to $202 million.
Policy & Compliance
The U.S. CFTC released compliance guidance for crypto and blockchain businesses.
BlackRock’s staked Ethereum fund surpassed $250 million in assets in its first week.
South Korea’s opposition party proposed scrapping the planned crypto tax policy originally set for 2027.
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, in line with market expectations.
Kenya opened public consultation on its draft crypto licensing framework.
The U.S. SEC approved Nasdaq’s pilot program for tokenized stock trading.
Echobit Highlights
Echobit launched the March Futures Trading Competition.
Echobit rolled out the Spring Super Giveaway campaign.
Echobit initiated the “Name the Crypto Campaign That Blew Your Mind” community discussion.
Echobit launched the BTC Price Prediction campaign.
Echobit introduced the Points Challenge campaign.
Echobit rolled out the Guess The Crypto Challenge.
Echobit launched the Game Challenge campaign.
Echobit introduced the Spring Airdrop campaign.
Echobit launched the Thursday Frenzy weekly engagement event.
Next Week Preview (Mar 16 – Mar 22)
The joint crypto regulatory guidance by the U.S. SEC and CFTC will take effect on March 23.
Backpack will conduct its Token Generation Event (TGE) on March 23.
Polymarket is set to announce major updates on March 23, with speculation around fundraising or a token launch.
G7 foreign ministers will meet in Paris from March 24 to 25 to discuss efforts to end the Iran conflict.
The U.S. Congress will hold a tokenization hearing on March 25, with the Blockchain Association CEO set to testify.
Metaplanet will hold its shareholders’ meeting on March 25.
Echobit will continue tracking global crypto developments — focusing on market movements, regulatory trends, and funding opportunities — helping you stay ahead throughout every market cycle.