Important news from last night and this morning (March 3-4)

Aave founder responds to "ACI withdrawing from governance": The protocol will continue to operate normally, and the incentive plan will not be affected.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov posted on the X platform, reviewing the contributions of Aave Chan Initiative (ACI) founder Marc Zeller to the Aave ecosystem over the past seven years. He stated that Zeller helped shape the incentive program, drive protocol growth, and participate in the evolution of the DAO through ACI. Kulechov indicated that the protocol will continue to operate normally, the incentive program will remain unaffected, and Aave Labs will collaborate with other DAO service providers to ensure a smooth transition for the community. Previously, it was reported that ACI, a key Aave service provider, planned to withdraw from DAO governance in July.

MARA executives clarified: The adjustment to the scope of the treasury strategy does not indicate an intention to liquidate most of the Bitcoin reserves.

Robert Samuels, Vice President of Investor Relations at MARA, clarified in a post on the X platform that rumors claiming MARA had changed its Bitcoin strategy and sold off most of its Bitcoin reserves are untrue. MARA's 2026 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission explicitly states that it will expand its Bitcoin strategy to allow the sale of Bitcoin held on its balance sheet. This move is intended to allow for periodic purchases and sales based on market conditions and capital allocation priorities, and is not an intention to liquidate most of its Bitcoin reserves. Samuels added that allowing the sale of Bitcoin for strategic purposes is distinct from selling off most of its Bitcoin reserves, and the community should not confuse the two. Previous reports suggested that MARA might adjust its treasury strategy, potentially selling off its accumulated Bitcoin.

ARQ, a financial application focused on stablecoins, has raised $70 million in funding, with Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund participating.

According to Bloomberg, ARQ, a Latin American financial app focused on stablecoins, has raised $70 million in funding, with Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund participating. The funding will be used for rebranding, hiring new employees, and expanding its services beyond dollar-denominated transfers to include wealth management, local currency high-yield accounts, and lending. Formerly known as DolarApp, ARQ offers multi-currency accounts, digital wallets, foreign exchange, and debit cards, helping users store and transfer funds across borders. It has over 2 million customers in Latin America and annualized transaction volume exceeding $10 billion. ARQ states that it has built the infrastructure connecting traditional banking networks and stablecoin-based payment systems, enabling users to hold foreign currencies and conduct transactions.

A European Central Bank report warns that stablecoins may pose a significant risk to monetary policy.

According to Bloomberg, a working paper from the European Central Bank (ECB) warns that the widespread adoption of stablecoins poses significant risks to eurozone banks and the ECB's monetary policy sovereignty, particularly stablecoins pegged to foreign currencies such as the US dollar. The paper points out that the rapid expansion of stablecoins could trigger a reallocation of retail bank deposits to digital assets, constraining banks' credit intermediation capabilities and increasing uncertainty in the transmission of policy rates to loan volume. These risks would be further amplified if a mature stablecoin market is dominated by non-euro-denominated instruments. The governor of the Dutch central bank stated that stablecoins, due to their reserve management methods, could pose a risk to the core of the financial system. The governor of the German central bank has previously advocated for euro-denominated stablecoins for payments.

A suspected Gammafund address withdrew 9,000 ETH (approximately $17.86 million) from Binance five hours ago.

According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin, five hours ago, the address gammafund.eth withdrew 9,000 ETH (US$17.86 million) from Binance at a price of US$1,984. This address likely belongs to the investment fund @Gammafund.

The Pudgy Penguins team deposited 450 million PENGU tokens, equivalent to approximately $3.12 million, into Binance.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, seven hours ago, the Pudgy Penguins team deposited 450 million PENGU (US$3.12 million) into Binance.

Binance will be performing wallet maintenance on the Ethereum network (ETH) today, which is expected to take 1 hour.

According to an official announcement, Binance will be performing wallet maintenance on the Ethereum network (ETH) at 14:00 (UTC+8) on March 4, 2026. To support this maintenance, Binance will suspend deposit and withdrawal services on the Ethereum network (ETH) at 13:55 (UTC+8) on March 4, 2026. The maintenance is expected to take 1 hour, and deposit and withdrawal services will automatically resume upon completion.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has warned that stablecoins are becoming a primary tool for illicit transactions and called for stronger regulation of their issuers.

According to CoinDesk, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international body that sets anti-money laundering standards, has issued a report warning that stablecoins have become the most widely used virtual asset in illicit transactions, calling for stronger regulation of issuers. The report cites Chainalysis data indicating that stablecoins accounted for 84% of illicit virtual asset transactions in 2025, involving $154 billion. A TRM Labs report shows that illicit entities received $141 billion in stablecoins in 2025, a five-year high, with sanctions-related activities accounting for 86% of illicit crypto fund flows. Actors such as Iran and North Korea are using stablecoins like USDT for weapons of mass destruction proliferation financing and cross-border sanctioned payments. The FATF warns that peer-to-peer transfers through non-custodial wallets are a critical vulnerability, as these transactions can bypass anti-money laundering controls.

1inch Network has upgraded its platform, reducing the median execution time of swap transactions to 14 seconds.

According to Cointelegraph, 1inch Network has upgraded its platform, improving user experience and speeding up swap transactions. The upgrade reduced the median execution time of swap transactions from 26 seconds to 14 seconds.

Circle minted 1 billion USDC on Solana in the past 10 hours.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, Circle minted an additional 1 billion USDC on Solana in the past 10 hours. Since 2026, Circle has cumulatively minted 23.75 billion USDC on Solana.

Japanese and South Korean stock markets plummeted, with the South Korean stock market falling 6%.

According to Jinshi News, the Nikkei 225 index fell below 55,000 points, with a daily drop of 2.31%. The South Korean KOSPI index also saw its decline widen to 6%.

US media: Khamenei's son may be officially announced as Iran's Supreme Leader on Wednesday.

According to a report by the New York Times cited by Jinshi, three Iranian officials familiar with the discussions revealed that Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, has become the leading candidate to succeed him as Iran's Supreme Leader. The officials stated that the Iranian Council of Experts is considering announcing Mojtaba as successor on Wednesday morning, but some have expressed reservations, fearing that such a move could make him a target for attacks by the United States and Israel.

a16z Crypto updates Jolt zkVM to natively support zero-knowledge proofs and questions the misuse of the "ZK" label.

According to The Block, a16z Crypto criticized the common use of the term "ZK" in some developer environments in a blog post about its Jolt zkVM. The article points out that most zkVMs do not actually possess zero-knowledge properties unless expensive "wrapping" procedures are applied. The author also mentions that "zk" is often used as a synonym for "simplicity," meaning proofs are "short and fast to verify," rather than true zero-knowledge privacy. With the community's growing focus on privacy, this misuse of the term is becoming a real problem. a16z's open-source Jolt zkVM received a major upgrade on Tuesday, natively supporting zero-knowledge proofs.

Vitalik: Ethereum's goal should be to build "shelter technology," not to imitate Apple or Google.

According to The Block, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated in a post on the X platform that Ethereum's goal is not to become a company like Apple or Google, but to build "shelter technology"—free and open-source technology that enables people to continue living, working, communicating, managing risk, and accumulating wealth under external pressure. He emphasized that cryptocurrencies should not be viewed merely as a technology industry focused on efficiency or glamour. Buterin addressed community concerns about Ethereum's social impact, acknowledging that Ethereum seems to be absent in improving the lives of those affected by issues such as surveillance capitalism and armed conflict. However, he pointed out that Ethereum's role is to create a "digital space" where different entities can collaborate and interact, and its core value lies in advancing freedoms such as financial privacy and autonomy.

Indiana's governor has signed the Bitcoin Rights Act, allowing the use of digital assets in the state's retirement plan.

According to Cointelegraph, the governor of Indiana has officially signed HB 1042 (the Bitcoin Rights Act) into law. This bill aims to protect Bitcoin rights, prohibit discriminatory tax policies against cryptocurrencies, and allow the use of digital assets in state retirement plans. According to previous reports, if signed by the governor, the bill will take effect on July 1, 2026.

Trump: The stablecoin bill GENIUS is "threatened" by the banking industry due to Congress's delay in passing the market structure bill.

According to The Block, US President Trump tweeted on Truth Social that the GENIUS stablecoin legislation is being threatened and sabotaged by banks. Trump stated that the US needs to complete market structure legislation as soon as possible, and Americans should be able to make more money with their money. He pointed out that banks are setting profit records and should not be allowed to undermine the strong crypto agenda, otherwise these agendas will flow to other countries. Trump explicitly stated that banks should not attempt to weaken the GENIUS Act or hijack the CLARITY Act; they need to reach a good agreement with the crypto industry because it is in the best interests of the American people. The CLARITY Act is currently under consideration in Congress and will clarify the specific responsibilities of the SEC and CFTC in regulating the crypto industry.

Coinbase has included Limitless (LMTS) in its listing roadmap.

According to an official announcement, Coinbase has included Limitless (LMTS) in its listing roadmap. Trading will be launched if it meets market-making and technical requirements, and the specific timing is yet to be determined.

A US government address just transferred out 0.0378 BTC, worth approximately $2,520.

According to Lookonchain, a U.S. government-related Bitcoin address just transferred out 0.0378 BTC, worth approximately $2,520 at the current price.

Spot gold falls below $5,000 mark

According to Bybit, spot gold fell below $5,000 per ounce, hitting a new low since February 20, with a daily drop of more than 6%.

Spot gold plunges $300 during the day

Spot gold plunged $300 during the day, currently trading at $5,021.03 per ounce, a drop of 5.65%.

Apple releases M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, supporting more intensive local AI workflows.

According to Apple's official website, Apple has introduced the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips for the new MacBook Pro, which for the first time utilize the Fusion Architecture, which packages two third-generation 3nm chips into a single SoC. Both chips are equipped with an 18-core CPU (including 6 Super Cores and 12 new performance cores), offering up to 2.5 times the multi-threaded performance of the M1 Pro/M1 Max, and up to 30% faster in some professional workflows.

Circle: Nanopayments is now live on the testnet.

Stablecoin issuer Circle announced that its ultra-micropayment service, "Nanopayments," is now available on the testnet, supporting ultra-micro USDC transactions as low as $0.000001, with zero gas fees and AI proxy support.

OpenClaw launches official Weibo account, positioning itself as a community hub for open-source AI assistant frameworks.

The open-source AI assistant framework project OpenClaw has officially launched its official Weibo account, stating that its goal is to "enable everyone to unlock the infinite capabilities of AI," and that it will continue to share OpenClaw's technological progress on Weibo.

Coinbase will suspend trading in 25 perpetual contracts on March 16.

Coinbase Advanced and Coinbase International Exchange will suspend trading of several perpetual contracts around 21:00 (UTC+8) on March 16, 2026. These contracts include MET-PERP, REZ-PERP, BABY-PERP, SUPER-PERP, SUSHI-PERP, GMX-PERP, ERA-PERP, XAN-PERP, VINE-PERP, T-PERP, YB-PERP, WCT-PERP, HOME-PERP, NOT-PERP, MINA-PERP, CATI-PERP, DOGS-PERP, COW-PERP, GRT-PERP, DRIFT-PERP, COOKIE-PERP, ARKM-PERP, and B.

The AI ​​agent framework OpenClaw has surpassed 250,000 stars on GitHub.

The AI ​​agent framework OpenClaw has surpassed 250,000 stars on GitHub, officially overtaking React's 243,000 and Linux's 220,000 to become the most-starred software project on the platform. React and Linux, as mainstream front-end frameworks and operating system kernels respectively, took many years to accumulate their current number of stars. OpenClaw, on the other hand, overtook them in just about four months since its release.

WTI crude oil surged 7% intraday, while Brent crude oil rose 5.7% intraday.

According to Bybit data, WTI crude oil surged 7% intraday, reaching $76 per barrel. Brent crude oil rose 5.7% intraday, currently trading at $82.14 per barrel.

The Bank of Japan tests blockchain-based central bank digital funds settlement.

According to Solid Intel, the Bank of Japan will test the settlement of central bank funds between financial institutions on a blockchain.