Miners have less than a million bitcoins left to mine, the US Treasury has recognized crypto mixers as tools for protecting privacy, Hyperliquid has surpassed $4 trillion in trading volume, and other events from the past week.

Bitcoin Stuck in a Range

On March 9, the price of the first cryptocurrency briefly dropped to around $65,700. The main reason for this decline was macroeconomic factors, including rising oil prices.

Digital gold quickly recovered, bouncing back above $70,000. This price movement occurred against a backdrop of falling oil prices and rising stock indices.

Experts noted that in times of instability, Bitcoin has held its ground significantly better than traditional assets.

The cryptocurrency's attempt to continue its upward trend with a test of $74,000 ended with a pullback to around $71,500.

Over the week, the coin's price increased by nearly 6.5%.

Amid the sideways price movement, spot BTC ETFs recorded a net inflow for five consecutive trading days for the first time this year. Total inflows into these products reached $767.3 million.

Some of the largest altcoins outperformed the flagship in terms of dynamics. Ethereum's price rose by 7.6%, settling above $2,000. Solana increased by 7.1%, and Dogecoin by 7.7%.

As of March 15, the total market capitalization of digital assets stands at $2.5 trillion. Bitcoin's dominance is at 57%, while Ethereum's is at 10%.

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index remains in extreme lows at 15 points.

Less Than a Million Bitcoins Left to Mine

On March 9, the volume of unmined bitcoins reached the 1 million mark.

Currently, over 95% of the maximum supply of 21 million BTC is available. The blockchain continues to operate under a fixed issuance schedule:

  • On average, miners add 144 blocks per day;
  • Approximately every 2016 units are formed in about two weeks.

The reward for mining a block halves every 210,000 blocks. Halving occurs roughly every four years. After the next event in 2024, the reward will be 3.125 BTC per block.

The network surpassed the 20 million coin mark in just over 17 years, while the remaining million coins will take nearly 114 years to mine.

Meanwhile, miners are diversifying their capabilities to service the AI market, as noted by VanEck. Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets, believes that miners' access to increasingly scarce electricity makes their stocks one of the most attractive assets.

Analysts from Hashrate Index warned about the negative impact of the war in Iran on Bitcoin miners' businesses. They estimate that the consequences of the international conflict will affect not just electricity prices due to rising oil costs but also the volatility of the cryptocurrency itself.

Wintermute stated that the traditional business model for miners is becoming outdated. The company's specialists believe that industry participants will need to either switch to AI hosting or learn to manage BTC reserves as working capital to survive.

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US Authorities Recognize Crypto Mixer Users' Right to Privacy

The US Treasury submitted a report to Congress recognizing the legality of using crypto mixers to protect financial privacy.

In 2022 and 2023, the department labeled mixers as money laundering centers and imposed sanctions against Tornado Cash. Now, the department has noted that law-abiding users need these platforms to conceal information about personal savings, business payments, or donations.

Criminal use of such services remains a concern. According to the Treasury, from January 2024 to September 2025, hackers linked to North Korea stole $2.8 billion in cryptocurrency, with $1.5 billion coming from the Bybit exchange hack. Malicious actors regularly use mixers to obscure their tracks.

The Treasury has categorized these platforms into custodial and non-custodial. The former must register with FinCEN and can provide authorities with client and transaction data.

For the latter category, the department did not recommend new restrictions. The regulator continues to seek a balance between the risks of illegal financing and citizens' right to privacy.

The Treasury has requested Congress to pass several new laws aimed at ensuring:

  • the right to freeze. Financial institutions will be able to temporarily block suspicious crypto assets during investigations;
  • clarification of rules for DeFi. Legislators must determine which market participants in decentralized finance fall under AML requirements;
  • the “sixth special measure” to the US Anti-Terrorism Act. Authorities want the power to block cryptocurrency transfers outside correspondent banking relationships.

BlackRock Launches Ethereum ETF with Staking Feature

On March 12, trading for a yield-generating Ethereum ETF from BlackRock began on the Nasdaq.

The turnover during the debut session reached $15.5 million. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart called the result "quite respectable for the first day."

This new instrument differs from other BlackRock ETFs that merely track the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency. ETHB generates returns through staking the coin, locking up between 70% and 95% of its reserves depending on market conditions.

By the end of the first week, the asset volume in the product reached $154.7 million. The flagship ETHA from BlackRock exceeds $6.7 billion. The fund dominates the spot Ethereum ETF segment with a total capitalization of $12.3 billion.

Also on ForkLog:

  • Resilient Bitcoin and strong dollar: how the conflict in Iran affected the markets.
  • Vulnerability in MediaTek chips threatened crypto wallets on a quarter of Android smartphones.
  • After Fusaka, the number of address substitution attacks in Ethereum skyrocketed by 600%.
  • Inflation in the US matched forecasts. Bitcoin resumed its rise.

Hyperliquid Surpasses $4 Trillion and Launches Prediction Markets Testing

The cumulative trading volume of perpetual futures on the Hyperliquid platform has exceeded $4 trillion. It took the project three years to reach this milestone.

The growth rate of volumes is accelerating. The first trillion dollars was achieved in 733 days, the second in 141 days, the third in just 88 days, and the fourth milestone was reached in 141 days.

Analysts from Reflexivity Research highlight the effectiveness of the platform's cyclical tokenomics: increasing trading activity generates more fees, which are used for buybacks and token burns. This systematically reduces the market supply of HYPE.

At the beginning of the week, the daily trading volume of oil perpetual contracts (CL-USDC) on the exchange jumped from $21 million to $1.2 billion. This instrument displaced Ethereum from the second spot in popularity on Hyperliquid.

The open interest for the asset reached $183 million. The surge in trading occurred amid sharp price changes and high volatility in commodity markets, leading the platform to forcibly close short positions for traders totaling around $75 million.

Hyperliquid developers launched the HIP-4 protocol in the testnet, with the main innovation being prediction markets. In the first phase, users have access to binary options on HyperCore's base prices.

What Else to Read?

We explored why educational institutions are a "fiat" knowledge system and how to regain sovereignty over one's own mind.

We examined the current situation of a new wave of AI technology competition in the graphics processor segment.

In the traditional digest, we gathered the main events of the week in the field of cybersecurity.