In a Mar 21, 2026 guest analysis, Sentora marketing director Vincent Maliepaard argues DeFi should complement Total Value Locked (TVL) with a new metric for how much capital is actually protected. He points to stablecoin usage growth—including Visa’s estimate that global stablecoin transaction volume rose from more than $3.5 trillion in 2023 to more than $5.5 trillion in 2024—as evidence DeFi is becoming real infrastructure. Maliepaard proposes “Total Value Covered” (TVC) to measure capital backed by explicit risk-transfer mechanisms, aiming to better signal institutional readiness.

As of March 21, 2026 (11:59 UTC), Bittensor (TAO) is priced at $268.10 (–0.78% weekly) and 0.003807 BTC on Binance (–0.78%). Weekly TAO/BTC and TAO/USD charts show bullish divergence signals, while traders are monitoring $300 on USD and 0.003894 BTC as key resistance levels.

Ethereum's market structure is increasingly supported by retail dip-buying as large holders remain largely inactive, which has helped keep price steadier but weakened upside follow-through. Exchange reserves rose to 15.86 million ETH (+0.1% in 24 hours) and net inflows totaled 17,994 ETH on March 19, while ETH traded around $2,153–$2,158 with funding near 0.0010% and perpetual open interest near $28.8–$29 billion.

River (RIVER) is drawing attention ahead of a March 22 token unlock estimated at 1.11 million RIVER, or roughly $26–$28 million, which is about 5–6% of the float. As of March 21, 2026 at 12:31 UTC, RIVER traded at $25.92 after a +16.81% weekly rise, with market cap near $508 million and ~19.6 million circulating supply out of 100 million total.

Bitcoin fell below the $73,000 level after a stronger-than-expected February US Producer Price Index report unsettled risk markets. February headline PPI rose 0.7% m/m and 3.4% y/y, while core PPI increased 0.5% m/m and 3.9% y/y. Traders are now focused on the Fed's policy statement, Powell's press conference, and any shift in the dot plot for 2026 rate-cut expectations.

A TradingView analysis published March 20 by TradingShot outlines a bearish scenario in which XRP could slide toward the $0.90–$0.80 area by mid-December 2026. The view is built on weekly-chart signals, including rejection near the 50-week MA above $2.5 and risk of a breakdown under the 200-week MA around $1.05. At press time, XRP traded at $1.45, down 0.3% in 24 hours and up almost 4% on the week.

Solana (SOL) moved back above $90 as a mini golden cross appeared on its chart, extending its seven-day gain to 3.71%. The token was last quoted at $90.76, up 0.47% over 24 hours, while trading volume fell 27.33% to $2.57 billion. TVL also edged higher to $6.903 billion and RWA tokenization on Solana topped $1.8 billion.

On March 20, Bitcoin mining difficulty fell 7.7% to 133.79 trillion at block 941,472 as Maestro launched Mezzamine, a BTC-denominated credit market aimed at linking institutional holders with miners seeking expansion funding. The first program, built with Sazmining, targets 8% to 9% annual yields funded by mining output, while Maestro says qualified operators have shown more than 1,500 BTC in borrowing interest. Bitcoin traded around $70,700 on March 21 after sliding from $76,000 earlier in the week.