Bitcoin Surges Past $73,000

Earlier today, March 5, NATO’s air defense systems intercepted a missile fired from Iran toward Turkey. In response to U.S. and Israeli strikes, Iran has targeted multiple countries: the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Iran’s northern neighbor Azerbaijan said Thursday an Iranian drone injured two civilians. Distant nations have also been affected: drone strikes this week hit a UK airbase in Cyprus, and Turkey said Wednesday a missile heading toward its airspace was shot down by NATO air and missile defense systems. Both are NATO members bound by Article 5, which mandates collective defense if any ally is attacked. NATO members are already addressing the alliance’s eastern flank amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. European allies have depleted weapons stocks supporting Ukraine; replenishment progress has been slow, and commitments to boost defense spending face hurdles. Experts note triggering Article 5 “just because a missile was shot down is a bit of an o

On March 5th, per Bitget market data, U.S. pre-market cryptocurrency-related stocks broadly rose, with the following moves: - MicroStrategy (MSTR): +0.48% - Coinbase (COIN): +1.15% - Robinhood (HOOD): +2.91% - Argo Blockchain (ABTC): +2.61% - Bit Mining (BMNR): +0.85% - Circle Internet Financial (CRCL): +0.81%

March 5 — Two directors of American Bitcoin (ABTC), a Bitcoin mining firm backed by the Trump family, collectively bought roughly 1.63 million shares during the post-disclosure window period, per documents. Justin Mateen purchased ~1.3 million shares at an average price of $1 each, while Richard Busch acquired about 330,000 shares over the past two days. ABTC previously reported a net loss of $59 million in Q4 2025. Co-founder Eric Trump noted the company now holds more than 6,500 Bitcoins—up 500 from its last disclosure—ranking 17th globally among public firms for Bitcoin holdings. The firm uses a dual "mining + direct coin purchases" strategy: ~one-third of its Bitcoin comes from mining, with the rest sourced via market buys and strategic trades. ABTC also announced it’s buying 11,298 ASIC mining machines, expected to boost its hash rate by ~12%. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. collectively own ~20% of ABTC’s shares.

On March 5, German robotics startup Neura Robotics is gearing up for a new funding round of roughly €1 billion to speed up development of AI-powered humanoid robots. Insiders say Tether—issuer of the stablecoin USDT—is expected to join the round as an investor. The round could value the Mechingen, Germany-based firm at around €4 billion, and the company may pursue additional financing down the line. Founded in 2019 by David Reger, Neura Robotics focuses on building “cognitive robots” with visual, auditory, and environmental perception capabilities. It’s also developing industrial and consumer robots, plus Neuraverse—a software platform enabling safe human-robot interaction for intelligent machines. Public records show the company previously closed a €120 million funding round in January 2025, led by Lingotto Investment Management, with other backers including Volvo Cars Tech Fund. Neura Robotics notes its order book is approaching $1 billion, with clients like Kawasaki Heavy I

March 5th, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — the global anti-money laundering body — noted in its latest report that stablecoin peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers are a major money laundering risk in the crypto ecosystem, particularly when users transact directly via non-custodial wallets. Without regulated intermediaries, these activities are harder to trace and regulate. FATF added that stablecoins are now the most widely used virtual asset in illicit crypto transactions. Citing Chainalysis data, 84% of the roughly $154 billion in illicit crypto transactions in 2025 involved stablecoins. The report recommends jurisdictions require stablecoin issuers to have the technical ability to freeze, burn, or blacklist assets linked to suspicious addresses when needed, and integrate compliance features like allowlists and denylists into smart contracts. FATF noted that unlike volatile Bitcoin and Ethereum, stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) are increasingly used by cri

**March 5th Update** Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows have rebounded sharply. Data shows the funds recorded ~$1.1 billion in net inflows over the three trading days March 2–4, with a single-day net inflow of ~$462 million on March 4—led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) at ~$307 million. The capital inflow has lifted Bitcoin prices: the token briefly hit $74,000, currently holds above $73,000, and is up ~6% on the week. Analysts note amid geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and rising macro uncertainty, institutional funds may again view Bitcoin as a geopolitical risk hedge. Some market watchers say sustained net inflows into ETFs could further solidify Bitcoin’s “safe-haven asset” narrative.