US SEC Commissioner Uyeda: Dropping some crypto lawsuits to avoid harming the regulator’s credibility

11 Democratic senators on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee are urging committee chair Tim Scott to hold a hearing on prediction markets, following the panel’s plan to host a Republican-only roundtable on the topic next week. The roundtable will focus on securities-based prediction markets, with a representative from Kalshi expected to attend. Currently, primary regulatory authority over prediction markets falls to the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); the Banking Committee’s planned discussion is seen as a further move by the panel to engage with the prediction market issue.

Bitcoin recently broke through $80,000 and hit a high of $87,300. Analysts note the current rally is backed by strong inflows from institutional capital and spot Bitcoin ETFs, but metrics including trading volume, market breadth, and derivatives positions have sparked debate over whether the uptrend can sustain. K33 points out that Bitcoin’s recent pullback in both magnitude and duration is significantly smaller than those during major bear markets in 2013, 2017, and 2021, suggesting the current cycle’s low may have already been established. The firm also adds that Bitcoin still has catch-up potential relative to gold and U.S. equities. 21Shares attributes the crypto market’s regulatory tailwinds to the U.S. SEC’s “innovation exemption” and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) advancing relevant rulemaking. K33 further notes that fading uncertainties—such as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions and the vote on the CLARITY Act—also helped drive the market’s breakout. However, Nexo takes a cautious stance, highlighting that recent declines in trading volume, narrowing rally breadth, and rising derivatives leverage could expose Bitcoin to risks of profit-taking or a temporary correction. Capital.com’s analysts identify the $87,000–$88,000 range as the near-term resistance zone; a breakout would target $90,000 next, while key support levels to watch are $84,000–$85,000 and $80,000. Fundstrat founder Tom Lee claims the crypto bull market has already begun, citing drivers including the reflow of AI capital back into crypto markets, improved crypto fundamentals such as tokenization and AI integration, and the end of Bitcoin’s four-year cycle.

Visa’s “Money Travels 2026” report reveals that if stablecoins offer bank-equivalent fraud protection and deposit insurance, U.S. consumers’ willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers will climb from 36% to 56%. The survey identifies stablecoin awareness as a major barrier: 56% of U.S. respondents said they have never heard of stablecoins. When stablecoins are offered by existing financial service providers, that willingness rises to 45%; 61% of respondents said they would trust traditional banks to provide digital currency services, while 60% would trust global payment networks. Visa notes that stablecoins currently do not carry FDIC deposit insurance, adding that the data is based solely on hypothetical scenarios and does not mean such protections are imminent. Conducted by Morning Consult between February 24 and March 2, the survey covered 45,445 people across 20 markets, including 2,192 U.S. adults. In Latin America, willingness to use stablecoins for cross-border transfers jumps from 34% to 74% when the relevant protections are in place.

Sources familiar with the matter have revealed that the board of UK Finance recently sent a letter to Coinbase, stating that after reviewing its membership framework, the crypto exchange failed to meet the organization’s membership standards, leading to the decision to terminate Coinbase’s membership. Coinbase still retains the right to appeal this ruling. UK Finance represents around 300 financial institutions, including major UK and international banks, market infrastructure firms, and payment providers. Both Coinbase and UK Finance declined to comment. In recent years, the crypto industry’s influence in policy discussions has continued to rise, though it has faced disagreements with traditional financial institutions over issues such as stablecoin yields and banking services. The revocation of Coinbase’s membership comes at a time when discussions between the UK crypto sector and traditional financial institutions on topics like banking service access are heating up.

Beating AI News Brief: According to a WSJ report, two senior executives from Anthropic have invested in a Peter Thiel-backed startup developing hardware capable of detecting airborne viruses. The report notes that the project focuses on biosecurity, aiming to address potential biosecurity risks stemming from the rapid advancement of AI technology. The hardware can detect airborne viruses to help identify potential biological threats at an earlier stage. This investment also reflects that the AI industry’s attention to AI-related biosecurity risks is expanding from model security to real-world protective infrastructure.

Serenity said it has recently begun positioning in multiple small-cap South Korean listed companies, which mainly supply products including memory chips, test equipment, machinery, and optical components to Micron (MU), SK Hynix, Samsung, and some U.S. firms. Serenity noted that among small South Korean companies with a market capitalization of roughly $30 million to $250 million, many are driven by AI demand and at business inflection points, spanning sectors like optical components, CPUs, memory, and semiconductor equipment. Serenity stated that due to the high risk and volatility of these companies, he will not disclose specific target names, but believes individual firms could see their market cap grow from $40 million to $400 million—enough for him personally to offset the associated investment risks.