Mastercard plans to buy London-based stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for up to about $1.8 billion, including $300 million tied to contingent payments. The move extends Mastercard's push into stablecoin settlement and always-on payment rails, following earlier initiatives that linked on-chain activity with traditional networks.

On 17 March 2026, Solana drew attention as USDC transfer volume rose 300% year-over-year and median fees hovered near $0.00047. Derivatives participation also increased, with Open Interest climbing from $4.9 billion to nearly $6 billion. SOL reached as high as $96 and traded around $93 at press time, supporting a still-constructive market structure.

Meta said it will discontinue virtual reality access to Horizon Worlds on Meta Quest headsets on June 15, moving the flagship metaverse product to a mobile-only experience. Horizon Worlds debuted in late 2021 as a VR-first multiplayer platform for building and publishing virtual spaces and games. The change follows continued losses at Reality Labs and a broader company shift toward mobile experiences.

Coin Center says the US SEC should shift from handling crypto issues via project-by-project no-action letters to publishing clearer rules. In a March 5 letter made public on Tuesday, it warned that selective relief can fragment the market and produce uneven treatment across networks and intermediaries.

Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments firm RedotPay is in discussions to secure up to $150 million in new funding as it advances plans for a U.S. IPO, according to Bloomberg. The report said the listing could value the company at more than $4 billion and could happen as soon as this year. RedotPay previously said its annualized total payment volume exceeded $10 billion in December 2025, with full-year TPV up 300% year-over-year.

Citigroup analysts said on Tuesday that Bitcoin and Ethereum are unlikely to set new all-time highs this year despite a recent price rebound. The bank cut its 12-month targets to $112,000 for Bitcoin (from $143,000) and $3,175 for Ethereum (from $4,304), citing slower-than-expected U.S. legislative progress that could limit regulatory catalysts for institutional and ETF demand.

Ethereum (ETH) has climbed above $2,350 after building momentum from the $2,320 area, and it is holding above the 100-hour Simple Moving Average. Price action shows resistance levels around $2,340 and $2,380, with a potential path toward $2,420 and the $2,500 zone if $2,380 breaks. On the downside, support is highlighted near $2,315 and $2,260 if the move loses steam.

Centrifuge (CFG) climbed 39.52% to $0.165, alongside a 16,780% surge in trading volume over the past 24 hours. Price pushed toward the $0.18 resistance area and saw rejection, while derivatives activity intensified with Open Interest up over 1,595% to $11.2M. Exchange netflows stayed slightly negative at about -$518K, suggesting modest withdrawals as the market evaluates whether the breakout can hold.