Morgan Stanley submitted a second amended S-1 for its proposed MSBT spot Bitcoin ETF, describing a $1 million seed raise via 50,000 initial shares and an intended NYSE Arca listing pending regulatory approval. The filing also names Jane Street, Virtu Americas and Macquarie Capital as authorized participants to handle large share creations and redemptions.

Research firm Delphi Digital said on a Monday post that stablecoins are becoming a cheaper way to move U.S. dollars across emerging market FX corridors, where legacy systems can charge up to 8% in combined fees. While onchain transfers settle in seconds, off-ramps like bank account and interbank access still create major friction between blockchain networks and traditional finance.

During the week ending Monday, March 9, notional trading volume on Polymarket and Kalshi climbed to $2.49 billion and $2.85 billion, respectively, amid heightened US-Iran tensions. At the same time, US regulators advanced CFTC rulemaking for event contracts and Senator Adam Schiff proposed the DEATH BETS Act to ban federally regulated markets from listing contracts tied to war, terrorism and individual deaths.

Metaplanet announced on Monday that it raised $255 million in a private placement and introduced new warrant structures to support further Bitcoin purchases. The company priced new shares at a 2% premium and attached warrants at a 10% premium, which could add hundreds of millions of dollars toward its 210,000 BTC treasury target. Metaplanet, which currently holds 35,102 BTC and trades above its key mNAV threshold, also launched Moving Strike Warrants that may bring in an additional $234 million for its accumulation strategy.

Yield-bearing stablecoins have expanded 15 times faster than the broader stablecoin sector over the past six months, driven by sharp market cap gains in USYC, USDG, USDD and USDY. Their combined value has doubled since May 2025 to $22.7 billion, while US lawmakers remain split over how yield products fit into the CLARITY and GENIUS regulatory frameworks.

Swedish authorities are investigating a reported data leak tied to CGI Sverige after a threat actor called ByteToBreach claimed to have exposed source code and sensitive material from the country's e-government platform. CGI said the incident involved two internal test servers with an older application version and its source code accessible but no evidence of impact on production data or services. Officials and security researchers warned that the leaked code and documentation, if authentic, could pose ongoing risks to Swedish and European public cyber infrastructure.

In a Wednesday report, Binance Research said historical data suggest US midterm elections have often preceded strong rebounds in both Bitcoin and US equities, highlighting the 12 months after previous votes. The study noted that, in the three past midterm cycles tracked, the S&P 500 gained an average 19% and Bitcoin rose 54% in the year that followed, even though BTC posted negative returns during those midterm years. Analysts also cautioned that near-term price action may be shaped more by the escalating conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran and rising oil prices.

Stablecoin-focused banking startup Kast has reportedly closed an $80 million funding round that values the company at $600 million. The capital will be used to scale its payment infrastructure and products across North America, Latin America and the Middle East, while stablecoin transfer volume reached a record $1.8 trillion in February.

On Monday, Coinbase stated it launched regulated crypto and equity index futures for Coinbase Advanced users in 26 European countries under its MiFID-licensed entity. The lineup includes Bitcoin, Solana and a Mag7 + Crypto Equity Index Futures product, offering up to 10x leverage on select contracts as ESMA intensifies its focus on perpetual-style derivatives.