On March 17, the SEC and CFTC released joint interpretive guidance detailing how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets and network activities such as staking, mining, and airdrops. The document also introduces a government-recognized token taxonomy and describes how a non-security crypto asset could be tied to an investment contract temporarily, and how that contract may end under the framework.

A Q1 2026 Kaiko Exchange Ranking indicates that the highest-rated crypto exchanges are separating from the broader market on governance, security, and institutional trust. The report says the top 10 venues average a Governance score of 67 versus 47 for the wider market, while Crypto.com leads overall with an 85 score and a perfect 100 in Security. The compliance focus comes as Europe nears the July 2026 deadline for the MiCA framework.

Bitcoin has posted eight consecutive green daily candles, extending a run of daily gains. Over the sequence, price moved from the mid-$60,000 area to above $74,600, clearing the $72,000 and $74,000 resistance levels. The candles reportedly show minimal lower wicks, suggesting limited intraday pullbacks during the streak.

ShapeShift founder Erik Voorhees has returned to accumulating Ethereum after a one-year break, with on-chain data pointing to sizable ETH buys routed via CoW Protocol. The activity involved $49 million in USDT for nearly 24,000 ETH at an average price of $2,098, while related wallets still hold about $35.25 million in USDT and Aave-yield bearing AETHUSDT.

Bitcoin climbed above $74,000, marking its strongest level since Feb. 4. The move followed robust ETF demand, with Bitcoin spot ETFs posting $767 million in net inflows from March 9 to March 13. Despite the rebound, BTC remains 41% below its Oct. 6 record high of $126,080.