「TradFi-native」 Contract-based DEX Project QFEX Completes $9.5M Seed Round, Led by General Catalyst

**March 5** U.S. President Donald Trump took to Truth Social this week, vowing he won’t let the banking industry “undercut America’s robust crypto agenda.” He’s urging Wall Street to strike a deal with the crypto sector to advance the stalled Digital Asset Market Structure Bill in the Senate. The legislation is bogged down by a core rift: whether crypto exchanges can offer yields to stablecoin holders. Banks warn the move could prompt depositors to shift funds from traditional accounts to stablecoin products, eroding the industry’s deposit base and crimping credit supply. While Trump has publicly backed the crypto industry, insiders doubt his stance will alter Senate voting dynamics. Senate Banking Committee member Thom Tillis noted the president’s voice won’t shift banks’ position on risk concerns. The crypto community, however, argues Trump’s intervention could pressure banks to concede in negotiations. Senator Cynthia Lummis pointed out that if banks take too hard a line

March 5 — MEXC Chief Operating Officer Vugar Usi Zade said that as governments worldwide increasingly “weaponize” the energy market, Bitcoin is rapidly evolving from its original neutral technical protocol into a strategic asset with geopolitical significance. More and more countries are tapping into excess energy to develop Bitcoin mining and viewing hash rate as a new form of national soft power. Examples include: - The U.S., leveraging its renewable energy edge, controls roughly 37% of the global hash rate; - Russia holds about 16%; - France is exploring using excess nuclear energy for mining; - Nations like Ethiopia, Norway, and Iceland are attracting mining investments via their hydropower and geothermal resources. Usi Zade noted that amid some countries building strategic Bitcoin reserves and supporting domestic mining industries, Bitcoin is gradually shifting from a “cyberpunk experiment” to a national-level industrial policy tool. Going forward, countries that can

March 5 — Institutional-grade digital asset trading technology firm Crossover Markets announced the completion of a $31 million Series B funding round, with a company valuation of approximately $200 million. The round was led by Tradeweb Markets, with participation from Ripple, DRW Venture Capital, Illuminate Financial, Virtu Financial, Wintermute Ventures and XTX Markets, among others. The funds will be primarily allocated to upgrading its institutional-grade encrypted messaging network CROSSx, expanding global operations and enhancing system integration with institutional clients. Data indicates CROSSx has matched over $50 billion in notional trading volume, completed 12 million total transactions and now supports nearly 100 active institutional participants. Meanwhile, Tradeweb Markets plans to grant its global clients access to Crossover’s institutional spot crypto liquidity via its algorithmic order routing technology—marking the traditional electronic trading marketplace op

On March 5th, OnchainLens monitoring data shows a newly created wallet address withdrew 304.55 BTC from Binance, valued at approximately $22.16 million. Address: bc1qjk5udywdnpy60455vjesjgavwdm2d2xw97ky29

On March 5, OKB—the native token of crypto exchange OKX—surged more than 50% in a short span, likely fueled by reports that the NYSE’s parent company has invested in OKX, valuing the platform at $25 billion. The token was recently trading at $117, pushing its market capitalization to $16.48 billion.

March 5 — Per a Fortune report, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), parent of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has invested in cryptocurrency exchange OKX, valuing the firm at roughly $25 billion in its latest funding round. The investment is aimed at accelerating blockchain-based stock trading development, signaling traditional financial institutions are rapidly expanding into cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure.