Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin said during the ETH ChiangMai togETHer event on Tuesday that zero-knowledge proofs and zkSNARKs can enhance privacy, scalability and verification for blockchains and wider internet applications, enabling computation to be checked without exposing underlying data. He highlighted examples such as using zk proofs with modern passports to confirm citizenship from embedded chips without disclosing extra personal information, and improving scalability by publishing hashed data instead of full datasets to speed up validation. Buterin also pointed to offchain use cases, including verifying open-source algorithms and large-scale computations while keeping code and sensitive data hidden, and said he expects zkSNARKs to see growing adoption over the next five years. In outlining his vision for a "cypherpunk principled nonugly Ethereum", Buterin said he plans to layer this privacy-focused, censorship-resistant design onto the existing network, prioritizing zk prover friendliness and simpler consensus while maintaining interoperability and avoiding fragmentation.

Polymarket data show the odds of Bitcoin falling below $55,000 reached 72%. The figure reflects pricing on a prediction market contract tracking whether BTC will drop under that threshold.

Bitmine purchased 51,162 ETH valued at $95.36M last week, raising its aggregate Ethereum position to 4.42M ETH, the update shows. Of this total, 3.04M ETH is currently staked.

Ethereum fell to a two-week low as Tom Lee's BitMine expanded its $8.4 billion holdings. The accumulation continued despite Ethereum trading near short-term lows.

Crypto.com received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on February 23 to proceed with its application for a federal charter as a national bank, The Block reports. The approval would enable the company to offer digital asset custody and staking services under federal regulatory framework, with Cofounder and CEO Kris Marszalek saying it brings the firm closer to providing institutional clients with a one-stop qualified custodian operating under federal regulation. Crypto.com joins Ripple, Circle, BitGo, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos in receiving conditional OCC approval for federal banking status. A national trust bank charter would place the company under federal oversight rather than state-level regulation and authorize it to custody and safeguard client assets; over the past year, the OCC clarified that U.S. banks may buy and sell crypto assets on their own behalf and rescinded certain prior restrictions to ease compliance burdens for crypto-related activities, according to The Block.

Roughly $230 million in leveraged long positions were liquidated within 60 minutes as Bitcoin declined, The Weekly reports. The liquidations occurred during a sharp drop in Bitcoin's price.

Bitmine has increased its Ethereum treasury position to 4.42 million ETH, according to the latest disclosed figures. The firm's holdings now represent 3.66% of the cryptocurrency's circulating supply.

Crypto.com has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Crypto.com National Trust Bank, a key step toward operating as a federally regulated national trust bank. The entity, formally named Foris Dax National Trust Bank, is expected to offer digital asset custody, staking across multiple blockchains including Cronos, and trade settlement once full approval is granted.

Vitalik Buterin sold 1,869 ETH worth $3.67 million over two days as Ether declined from roughly $1,980 to $1,850, onchain data show. The sales followed a 3,500 ETH withdrawal from Aave flagged by Lookonchain and aligned with earlier selling activity.