Ethereum Gas Fee Continues to Drop, Now at 0.352 Gwei

March 5 – Sources report Poland’s central bank governor has proposed selling gold reserves to raise up to 480 billion zloty (roughly $130 billion) for defense spending, a plan backed by the country’s president. Adam Glapinski, the central bank chief, outlined the proposal during a meeting with the president on Wednesday. (FX678)

On March 5, U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending Feb. 28 totaled 213,000—marking a new high since the week of Feb. 7, and below market expectations of 215,000. (Forex168)

On March 5, crypto-friendly financial firm Revolut filed an application for a U.S. banking charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). If approved, the company would operate in the U.S. like a traditional bank, gaining direct access to core payment networks including Fedwire and the Automated Clearing House (ACH). The charter would also let Revolut roll out additional banking services—such as credit cards and personal loans. Currently, Revolut offers account and payment services in the U.S. via a partnership with Lead Bank, though it does not hold its own banking charter. Valued at roughly $75 billion, Revolut has noted the U.S. market is a key region for its global growth. A successful charter would mark one of its biggest regulatory milestones outside Europe.

On March 5, OKX Founder and CEO Star Xu announced in a social media post that the exchange’s partnership with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) represents a major milestone for the digital asset market’s evolution. As the operator of global financial infrastructure including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), ICE’s investment in OKX and board representation underscore both parties’ shared conviction that digital asset technology will have a long-term role in the future financial system. Xu noted the two will focus on exploring development paths for new financial infrastructure—including tokenized securities—allowing traditional assets to reach global investors via digital platforms, while integrating the governance, market structure, and regulatory frameworks traditional exchanges have long built. He added that as blockchain boosts global asset circulation and settlement efficiency, and AI reshapes market data analysis and risk management, future financial infrastructure must balance

On March 5, OKX Founder and CEO Star Xu announced that the exchange’s partnership with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) will pair OKX’s digital asset execution technology with ICE’s regulated market infrastructure. Both OKX and ICE operate high-performance matching engines with transparent order books. Together, the firms plan to: - Co-build a more robust market structure - Bridge digital assets and equities markets - Improve cross-market price discovery - Meet institutional-grade risk management and compliance requirements Earlier today, crypto media outlet BlockBeats reported that ICE—the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)—has invested in OKX, valuing the crypto exchange at approximately $25 billion in its latest funding round.

March 5 — Stablecoin issuer Tether announced a strategic investment in fintech firm Axiym to boost USDT adoption in global payment and settlement systems and enhance cross-border payment efficiency. Axiym is building a global distributed fund and settlement infrastructure that embeds financial services into a compliant payment ecosystem and supports the "Pay Now, Settle Later (PNSL)" post-settlement model. The system will also seamlessly integrate USDT fund flows, enabling payment companies to use USDT directly in their existing fund management systems without additional settlement pathways or complex infrastructure. Axiym’s distributed settlement network currently covers 140 countries and 70 currencies, supporting real-time settlement between payment processors and global payment aggregators. Its goal is to make cross-border fund flows more instant, predictable, and efficient. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino noted the investment will expand USDT’s practical applications in advanced