Today's top news highlights:
A senior Iranian military official stated that the Strait of Hormuz was not blocked , and that the interception of warships disguised as merchant ships was only targeted.
a16z Crypto plans to raise $2 billion for its fifth fund.
OpenAI selects law firms Cooley and Wachtell to prepare for its IPO.
Digital asset trading company Crossover has raised $31 million in Series B funding, led by Tradeweb.
Regulation & Macro
The Iranian Council of Experts is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to formally announce Mojtaba (son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei) as the new Supreme Leader. However, at least eight members are considering boycotting the vote, arguing that appointing Khamenei's son could create the impression of hereditary rule and raise questions about the legitimacy of the religion. The last emergency meeting was interrupted before the final vote count was confirmed due to an Israeli airstrike on the venue. Given ongoing security concerns, the next meeting is expected to be held online from a secret location.
A senior Iranian military official stated that the Strait of Hormuz was not blocked , and that the interception of warships disguised as merchant ships was only targeted.
Eric Trump, co-founder of World Liberty Financial and son of the US president, posted on the X platform, criticizing the banking industry's opposition to allowing stablecoin yields in legislation governing the crypto market structure. He pointed out that large banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are lobbying heavily to prevent Americans from earning higher returns on their savings, while also trying to block any rewards or benefits offered to customers.
Eric Trump stated that banks pay depositors far less interest than the Federal Reserve pays them, with the difference being pocketed by banks as profit. He accused banks of cracking down on the 4%-5% or higher yields or rewards offered by cryptocurrency and stablecoin platforms. He criticized lobbying groups like the American Bankers Association for spending millions of dollars trying to limit these yields through the Clarity Act, ostensibly advocating for "fairness" and "stability," but in reality protecting banks' low-interest-rate monopoly and preventing deposit outflows. He called this behavior anti-retail, anti-consumer, and "outright hostile to the United States."
The Independent Community Bankers Association in the United States also stated that allowing non-bank entities and crypto institutions access to master accounts poses a risk to the banking system.
Project Updates
Binance Alpha will launch Opinion (OPN) trading on March 5, 2026 at 19:00 (UTC+8). Users with at least 235 Binance Alpha Points can claim an airdrop of 100 OPN tokens on a first-come, first-served basis. This event uses a "decreasing point deduction" model. In the first minute of the event, claiming the airdrop will cost 30 Binance Alpha Points. If the event continues, the cost will decrease by 5 points for each minute thereafter, down to a minimum of 10 points. Please note that claiming the airdrop will consume the corresponding number of Binance Alpha Points. Users must confirm their claim on the Alpha event page within 24 hours; otherwise, they will be considered to have forfeited their claim.
BNB Chain: The BNB Beacon Chain token recovery tool will enter a phased deactivation process.
According to an official announcement from BNB Chain, the BNB Beacon Chain token recovery tool will enter a phased shutdown process. This tool previously allowed users to migrate assets from the BNB Beacon Chain to the BNB Smart Chain. The shutdown is divided into three phases: Phase 1, from now until April 30, 2026, will process recovery requests within 7 days; Phase 2, from May 1 to June 30, will extend the recovery period to one month; Phase 3, starting July 1, will involve a manual recovery process requiring user-signed transactions. Only BEP2 tokens mirrored on the BNB Smart Chain can be recovered; tokens that have not been mirrored cannot be recovered. The official announcement urges BNB Beacon Chain asset holders to use the recovery tool to complete the migration as soon as possible.
Coinbase will launch spot trading of OPINION (OPN).
According to an official announcement, Coinbase has announced that it will launch spot trading of OPINION (OPN). If liquidity conditions are met and the supported trading regions meet the trading requirements, the OPN-USD trading pair will begin trading on or after 21:00 Beijing time on March 5.
OpenAI selects law firms Cooley and Wachtell to prepare for its IPO.
X Money has reportedly opened a limited test to external users.
Elon Musk's payment app X Money opened a limited beta test to external users this week, with the first testers including Hollywood actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek. Screenshots shared by Shatner show that X Money users can earn cashback on specific purchases and enjoy a 6% annualized return on deposits. Deposits are held in custody by FDIC member Cross River Bank, with a maximum guarantee of $250,000 per person.
X Money is part of Musk's vision to make X a "one-stop shop" app, which will integrate features such as payments, private messaging, and AI chat in the future. Shatner has already used the $42 sent by Musk for a charity auction, selling 42 test invitations for $1,000 each, and subsequently adding 166 more. There is currently no indication that X Money will integrate encrypted payments.
Financing news
Digital asset trading company Crossover has raised $31 million in Series B funding, led by Tradeweb.
According to Bloomberg, fixed-income trading giant Tradeweb Markets led a $31 million Series B funding round for digital asset trading firm Crossover Markets Group, with participation from DRW Venture Capital, Ripple, Virtu Financial, Windemute Ventures, XTX Markets, and Illuminate Financial. The deal values Crossover at approximately $200 million. As part of the deal, Tradeweb will leverage its algorithmic technology to route crypto orders from institutional clients through its platform, providing them with direct access to the digital asset space.
a16z Crypto plans to raise $2 billion for its fifth fund.
According to Fortune magazine, multiple sources familiar with the matter revealed that a16z crypto is raising funds for its fifth fund, targeting approximately $2 billion, with plans to complete fundraising in the first half of 2026. a16z Crypto launched its first $300 million fund in 2018, and each subsequent fund has exceeded its predecessor's size, culminating in a massive $4.5 billion fund raised in 2022. While the new fund is less than half the size of its previous one, sources say a16z Crypto plans to shorten the fundraising cycle to accommodate the rapidly changing trends in the crypto industry. The sources also stated that the fifth fund will be entirely focused on blockchain investments.
Sources say a former OpenAI executive is raising $70 million for AI company Arda.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Bob McClure, former chief research officer of OpenAI, is raising $70 million for an AI and software platform startup that aims to automate manufacturing. The new company, named Arda, co-founded by McClure, is currently raising funds at a valuation of $700 million, according to sources familiar with the matter. Founders Fund and Accel co-led the round, with participation from Khosla Ventures and XYZ Venture Capital. The funding round is not yet closed, and the terms of the deal are still subject to change. Sources say Arda is developing an AI and software platform, including a video model that can analyze video footage from factory floors and use that data to train robots to operate autonomously in the factory.
Crypto KOL @sillytuna claims her address lost $24 million due to "violent threats."
Crypto KOL @sillytuna revealed on social media that his personal address suffered a serious security incident, resulting in the loss of approximately $24 million in AUSD. He stated that the incident involved violence, weapons, and kidnapping threats, and that the police have intervened. @sillytuna stated that he will completely withdraw from the crypto space and is "thankful that he has kept his limbs."
Opinions & Analysis
According to CoinDesk, Davide Crapis, head of AI at the Ethereum Foundation, stated that Ethereum's goal is not to merge with AI at the computational level, but rather to become a coordinating and verification layer for the AI world. He pointed out that as more and more digital activities are processed by AI systems, if these systems are controlled by centralized entities, the values of decentralization, self-sovereignty, censorship resistance, and privacy advocated by the crypto movement will be eroded.
Ethereum's AI strategy encompasses two main directions: first, decentralized AI coordination, providing the infrastructure for identity verification, trust establishment, and payment exchange for the increasingly prevalent AI agents. This involves using standards like ERC-8004 to allow agents to discover each other, assess reputations, and route payments through public registries. Second, introducing core principles such as privacy, openness, and censorship resistance into the AI field, encouraging more AI processing to occur locally on user devices, allowing users to retain control over their data and identity. Crapis emphasizes that in a future where AI can impersonate humans, cryptographic keys will become even more crucial. Even without providing the "brain" of AI, Ethereum can still help govern its operating environment.
According to CoinDesk analysis, Bitcoin rose approximately 10% this week to above $72,000, briefly breaking through $73,900, and is approaching a key price range of approximately $73,750 to $74,400—a range that has seen several significant turning points over the past two years. This range previously suppressed the upward trend in the first quarter of 2024 and also marked the end of the downtrend in April 2025. A decisive breakout of this range would signal new bullish momentum; failure to do so could confirm that the overall downtrend that began last October continues. Traders should closely monitor price action in the coming days.
Google warns: Beware of cryptocurrency scams exploiting new iPhone vulnerability kits.
Important data
A Bitcoin OG wallet deposited 500 BTC, equivalent to approximately $36.39 million, into Binance.
According to Lookonchain, two hours ago, a Bitcoin OG wallet (1QLASn) that had been dormant for eight months deposited 500 BTC (US$36.39 million) into Binance.
According to CCTV News, Dong Jin, a National People's Congress deputy and president of the Beijing Microchip Blockchain and Edge Computing Research Institute, stated that my country's independently developed blockchain underlying technology has been applied to 16 central ministries and 27 central enterprises, achieving positive progress in areas such as taxation, cross-border trade, and global payments. Tens of billions of invoices are processed annually on my country's domestically developed blockchain, with over 300,000 enterprises involved in cross-border trade on the blockchain, representing a trade volume of trillions of yuan.
