The European Central Bank says the digital euro is designed to protect eurozone payments from growing reliance on Big Tech platforms and stablecoins. It argues banks could otherwise lose fee income, customer data access and the stability of retail deposits, while the project includes bank-led distribution and limits aimed at preventing deposit flight. The Eurosystem targets a 2027 pilot, with possible first live transactions in mid-2027 if EU rules pass by 2026 and a potential issuance by 2029.

The UK government has announced it will prohibit cryptocurrency donations to political parties and other regulated organisations, citing national security and traceability concerns. It is also introducing a £100,000 annual limit on contributions from overseas electors, aiming to curb foreign influence and ensure donation sources can be clearly verified.

Tether and Circle blacklisted an Ethereum hot wallet tied to Iranian exchange Wallex on March 25, 2026, freezing about $117,000 across USDT, USDC, and smaller tokens. A related consolidation move left roughly $2.49 million in Binance-Peg BSC-USD stuck on BNB Smart Chain after funds reached a separate address but remained unusable.

Bitcoin's network hashrate fell below 1 ZH/s for the second time in 2026 as difficulty was cut by nearly 8% at block 941,472 on March 20, 2026. The adjustment brought difficulty to 133.79 trillion and the network's computing power to 933.51 EH/s. Large miners are increasingly redirecting energy and data-center capacity toward AI workloads as profitability pressure persists.

Bitcoin fell below the $73,000 level after a stronger-than-expected February US Producer Price Index report unsettled risk markets. February headline PPI rose 0.7% m/m and 3.4% y/y, while core PPI increased 0.5% m/m and 3.9% y/y. Traders are now focused on the Fed's policy statement, Powell's press conference, and any shift in the dot plot for 2026 rate-cut expectations.

On March 2, the US Senate voted 84-6 to move forward with consideration of H.R. 6644, a broader housing-and-banking package that includes language barring the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC through Dec. 31, 2030. The procedural motion drew six "no" votes, one senator voting "present," and nine not voting, underscoring how the digital dollar debate has entered the mainstream.

Bitcoin’s move during the US-Iran conflict has resembled its first-month reaction after Russia’s February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine: a sharp sell-off, a quick rebound, then choppy consolidation. After US and Israeli strikes against Iran that began around February 28, 2026, BTC recovered back into the $70,000–$73,000 range in the following weeks. RSI, CMF and price action collectively point to dip buying and volatile range trading rather than a sustained breakdown so far.

Playnance launched G Coin on March 18, 2026, positioning it as the utility and settlement token for its already-running Web3 entertainment ecosystem. The company says the network supports 10,000+ on-chain games, averages 1.5 million on-chain transactions per day, and has 203,732 holders with up to 13 billion tokens previously distributed in presale.

The United States Attorney's Office has filed a civil forfeiture action to seize about USDT 3.4 million in Tether tied to a crypto investment scam conducted on Ethereum. Authorities say the scheme targeted at least four victims in Massachusetts, Utah and South Carolina, with the funds later converted into USDT and confiscated in February and March 2025.