The popular AI framework Virtuals Protocol will host an in-person meet-up in Hong Kong on Friday, January 17.

On March 5, Russia’s Ministry of Finance is considering drafting a standalone stablecoin bill to regulate digital assets pegged to fiat currencies. Alexey Yakovlev, director of the ministry’s Financial Policy Department, stated stablecoins have “tremendous, even astonishing potential.” Russia plans to advance stablecoin legislation separately from its upcoming cryptocurrency trading regulatory framework. The current draft crypto regulation bill is expected to be submitted to the State Duma for review this spring and could take effect as early as July 1. Russia’s Central Bank previously categorized stablecoins as “foreign digital rights” and allowed some approved stablecoins to be used for cross-border trade settlements. In October 2025, the ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5 was approved for overseas trade. Market analysts note that amid Western sanctions, Russia is accelerating its crypto asset policy—and stablecoins may emerge as a key tool to evade sanctions and facilitate cro

On March 5, blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that Jez San—UK-based renowned game developer and FunFair founder (@aerobatic)—has sold 6,091 ETH (valued at ~$12.92 million) and 1.618 million LINK (valued at ~$15.19 million). Two days earlier, wallets linked to San transferred the following assets to two new wallets: - 1.618 million LINK (~$15.19M) - 6,091 ETH (~$12.92M) - 43.53 million ENA (~$4.71M) - 32,907 AAVE (~$3.60M) - 596,513 UNI (~$2.25M) - 8.08 million ONDO (~$2.02M) - 1.49 million PENDLE (~$1.88M) - 25,000 AVAX (~$2.30M) Roughly 40 minutes ago, the 1.618 million LINK and 6,091 ETH were sent to Binance via Flowdesk.

On March 5, Bitget market data shows spot gold briefly dropped $60, falling below $1,060 an ounce for an intraday decline of 1.59%.

March 5 — John Daghita, the son of a U.S. government contractor, has been arrested by the FBI on charges of stealing roughly $46 million in cryptocurrency from the U.S. Marshals Service, AggrNews reported. Case details remain incomplete, with law enforcement continuing to investigate the flow of funds and the suspect’s specific modus operandi. The incident was first disclosed in a post on social platform X, sparking market attention.

March 5 — U.S. initial jobless claims totaled 213,000 for the week ended Feb. 28, per Labor Department data released Tuesday. The figure topped the prior week’s 212,000 but fell short of economists’ 215,000 forecast, signaling the labor market remains in a low-layoff environment. The data shows initial claims have rebounded to near last year’s lows after holiday and winter weather disruptions. Meanwhile, continuing jobless claims climbed to 1.87 million—marking the biggest jump so far this year. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book noted employment levels stayed generally stable, with hiring activity largely unchanged in seven of the 12 Fed districts. Some businesses cited higher non-labor costs, soft demand, and economic uncertainty as constraints on hiring. Markets are now awaiting Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report. A broad consensus expects February job gains will slow following January’s strong reading, while the unemployment rate is seen holding steady.

On March 5th, HyperInsight monitoring (via https://t.me/HyperInsight) revealed that "Brother Whale" Huang Licheng’s address deposited 100,000 USDC into HyperLiquid to boost his 25x leveraged ETH long position. Currently, the position’s unrealized gain has topped $250,000, and its size has expanded to 6,975 ETH.