Bitcoin briefly tested $76,000, mining difficulty dropped by 7.7%, the SEC approved Nasdaq for trading tokenized stocks, and China began mass removals of OpenClaw, among other events from the past week.
To $76,000 and Back
The leading cryptocurrency started Monday with a strong upward trend, jumping from $71,000 to $74,000 within a day. The following day, the asset continued its rally, reaching $76,000 for the first time since early February.
However, by Wednesday, March 18, the upward momentum stalled due to escalating conflicts in the Middle East and rising oil prices.
Investor uncertainty was heightened by the Federal Reserve meeting, during which the regulator kept the key interest rate unchanged at 3.5-3.75%. Although the outcome was anticipated, market participants tend to exercise caution towards risk assets in such scenarios.
By the end of Thursday, the first cryptocurrency had completely lost its recent gains, dropping to $69,000. From that point until the end of the week, the coin traded within the range of $68,000-$70,000.
As of this writing, Bitcoin is priced at $68,800, reflecting a 4% loss over the past week.
The rest of the crypto market generally followed the lead of Bitcoin. Ethereum remained stuck around $2,000, with a weekly decline of just 1%.
Despite Bitcoin's less-than-optimistic performance, inflows into spot ETFs based on the asset have continued for the fourth consecutive week, attracting a net $95 million from March 16 to 20.
However, Ethereum funds ended a three-week streak, recording an outflow of $59 million.
The total market capitalization of the crypto market stands at $2.44 trillion, with Bitcoin dominance at 56.5% and Ethereum at 10.3%.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index remains in the extreme fear zone at 10 points.
Significant Mining Difficulty Correction
On March 21, following another recalculation, the mining difficulty of the first cryptocurrency dropped by 7.76% to 133.79 TH.
This decline is the second deepest of the year; on February 7, the metric plummeted by over 11% due to equipment shutdowns caused by a winter storm in the U.S.
Simultaneously, the network's hash rate continued to decline. After peaking at 1.15 EH/s in mid-October 2025, it has fallen to 940 EH/s.
The reduction in difficulty led to a rebound in hash price to $32 per PH/s per day. Industry experts consider the break-even point for miners to be around $40 per PH/s per day.
According to TheEnergyMag, among the 14 largest publicly traded mining companies in the U.S., only IREN and the Trump family-affiliated American Bitcoin Corp. are currently profitable.
As per _checkonchain, as of March 22, the average cost of producing one Bitcoin exceeds $82,000. With the current price at $69,000, miners are facing approximately a 15% loss on each block created.
The situation in the sector is influenced by rising oil prices, which are increasing electricity costs. In such conditions, market participants are forced to sell assets and shift resources to more profitable AI services.
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Tokenization on Nasdaq
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq's proposal to trade tokenized stocks. This initiative will involve products from the Russell 1000 index and several ETFs.
Tokenized assets will retain all the properties of their traditional counterparts, including ownership rights, tickers, and trading priorities. Clearing and settlements will still occur through traditional market infrastructure.
The process mechanics imply that brokers can make special notations for RWA orders when submitting requests. After a trade is executed, Nasdaq will send instructions to the Depository Trust Company. If the latter cannot fulfill the request due to network or other limitations, settlements will proceed in the standard format without using tokens.
Meanwhile, the SEC emphasized that placing a security on the blockchain does not change its legal status—the asset remains a stock, not a technological tool.
"This is not just a rule change. It is the official acceptance of tokenization on Wall Street," said analyst Crypto Patel.
Additionally, this week, SEC Chair Paul Atkins introduced a new taxonomy of tokens and an updated interpretation of investment contracts.
According to the new approach, the regulator identifies four categories of assets that are not considered securities:
- digital goods;
- digital collectibles;
- digital instruments;
- payment stablecoins (under the GENIUS Act).
Atkins stated that only one class of assets falls under the relevant legislation—"digital securities," which refers exclusively to tokenized versions of traditional financial instruments.
In addition, the SEC head announced the development of a set of rules for Regulation Crypto Assets, which will create transparent legal avenues for capital raising in the industry. It will include exemptions for startups and fundraising, as well as a "safe harbor" for investment contracts.
Removing OpenClaw
Amid a sharp decline in interest in the AI agent creation tool OpenClaw, a paid service for removing the application emerged in Chinese social networks. Previously, users had installed the software for a fee as well.
For instance, an Alibaba user from Shanghai, going by the name mojito lime water, offered to remove the utility for 299 yuan ($43.55). He had already completed several successful orders.
The mass abandonment of OpenClaw began after a warning was issued by the National Computer Incident Response Center of China, stating that the program has extremely weak security settings by default.
The Chinese Academy of Information and Communication Technologies announced the launch of an initiative to develop standards for agents based on OpenClaw to address their opaque decision-making mechanisms.
Several universities in China also issued warnings regarding the program, recommending the use of only the latest official version of the application, limiting the program's internet access, and closely monitoring permissions.
Outside of China, reports emerged of OpenClaw being used for phishing campaigns and stealing cryptocurrencies from developers.
According to OX Security, scammers created fake accounts on GitHub, opened discussions in controlled repositories, and tagged dozens of other users. Their message indicated they were selected to receive $5,000 in CLAW tokens.
Victims were directed to a malicious site where they were prompted to connect their wallets to "receive a reward." The page closely mirrored the official OpenClaw site.
Example of a fraudulent message. Source: OX Security.
From Tokens to Digital Stocks
Stocks and commodities continue to gain traction in the blockchain space. Thanks to tokenized real-world markets, open interest (OI) on the HIP-3 exchange Hyperliquid reached a record $1.43 billion.
In the six months since the launch of this new format, the figure has increased more than 100 times.
The segment leader is the Trade.xyz platform from the Hyperunit division, accounting for nearly 90% of total open interest, with a daily trading volume reaching $22 billion.
Only seven cryptocurrency pairs are included in the top 30 trading instruments on the platform; the rest are traditional assets, including popular oil brands and trading indices.
On March 18, S&P Dow Jones Indices granted Trade.xyz a license to launch the first official perpetual contracts on the S&P 500 index. In the first four days of trading, the product's OI exceeded $52 million, with a daily turnover of $22 million.
The popularity of non-cryptocurrency derivatives is attributed to the 24/7 trading model. The ability to trade on weekends and after traditional exchanges close attracts a new audience beyond the crypto community.
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Grinex Launches Bank Card Top-Up
The cryptocurrency exchange Grinex has added the option to purchase digital assets using a bank card. This feature is available to verified users of the platform.
Initially, users can purchase the ruble stablecoin A7A5 via card. After the funds are credited, the token can be exchanged for USDT and other assets.
The fee for top-ups is 0.5%. Funds are credited to the balance immediately after payment confirmation.
"All payments go through verified payment services. No risks associated with intermediaries and P2P," the blog states.
The minimum top-up amount is 1,000 rubles, and the maximum is 600,000 rubles. This limit is set by the bank and applies to both one-time payments and the total turnover of the user for the month.
The service is available to verified individuals with PSB bank cards. Support for other banks has not yet been announced. Withdrawal of funds to cards is under development.
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