PA Daily News | BlackRock's IBIT saw net inflows of $660 million last week; stablecoin payment company KAST raised $80 million.

Today's top news highlights:

The situation in Iran triggered a surge in oil prices, and Asian stock markets experienced a "Black Monday."

Bahrain's only oil refinery has reportedly been attacked by Iran, exacerbating energy disruptions.

Coinbase has launched futures contracts in Europe.

Strategy expects to have received $302 million in proceeds from STRC last week, which may be used to increase its Bitcoin holdings.

Stablecoin payment company KAST has raised $80 million in funding, valuing the company at approximately $600 million.

CoinShares: Digital asset investment products saw net inflows of $619 million last week.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw net inflows of $568 million last week.

Trading volume for crude oil-related assets on Hyperliquid hit a new high of $890 million in 24 hours.

Regulation & Macro

The situation in Iran triggered a surge in oil prices, and Asian stock markets experienced a "Black Monday."

Escalating tensions in the Middle East triggered a plunge in international oil prices, causing a "Black Monday" for Asian stock markets, with many countries opening lower and continuing to decline. South Korea's KOSPI index once plummeted by over 8%, triggering a trading halt. Japan's Nikkei 225 index plunged by over 7%, Vietnam's VN 30 index fell by over 6%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 and Indonesia's KOSPI both fell by over 4%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell by over 3%.

Bahrain's only oil refinery has reportedly been attacked by Iran, exacerbating energy disruptions.

According to reports from foreign media cited by Jinshi, smoke was billowing from Bahrain's national oil company (Bapco), following a Reuters eyewitness account stating that the Bahraini government had previously announced damage to the region caused by an Iranian drone attack. The reportedly attacked location is one of the oldest and most strategically important energy hubs in the Middle East, where Bahrain has invested heavily in modernizing its facilities. Bapco is to Bahrain what Saudi Arabia considers Saudi Aramco. In terms of capacity, Bapco's refining center has a capacity of approximately 405,000 barrels per day, compared to approximately 550,000 barrels per day at Saudi Arabia's largest refinery, Rastanura. Analysts say Iran's strategy appears to be the same as since the beginning of last week: to exert as much pressure as possible on oil prices, hoping that Gulf states will persuade Trump to concede. As of now, Bahrain's national oil company has declared force majeure.

Wuxi High-tech Zone releases 12 measures for crayfish farming, with subsidies up to 5 million yuan.

Wuxi High-tech Zone has released a draft of "Several Measures to Support the Integration and Development of Open Source Community Projects such as OpenClaw with the OPC Community (Draft for Solicitation of Opinions)," outlining 12 policies related to "crayfish farming." These policies cover everything from basic support to industrial implementation, from talent attraction and cultivation to safety and compliance, with individual support reaching up to 5 million yuan. The draft proposes a full subsidy of up to 1 million yuan for local cloud platforms providing free deployment and development toolkits. For OPC projects using the zone's intelligent computing platform, subsidies will be provided based on actual costs, with a maximum of 300,000 yuan per project per year. Furthermore, projects developing large-scale vertical models for industrial quality inspection and predictive maintenance based on OpenClaw and obtaining national registration will receive a reward of 500,000 yuan; breakthroughs in key technologies such as embodied intelligent robots and intelligent quality inspection will receive up to 5 million yuan in support; and the establishment of joint open-source laboratories for "AI + Manufacturing" will be encouraged, with a maximum reward of 1 million yuan for leading the development of open-source frameworks or formulating industry standards.

Project Updates

British Reform Party leader Farage has acquired a stake in Stack BTC, a Bitcoin company run by the country's former Chancellor of the Exchequer.

According to Yahoo Finance, Nigel Farage, leader of the UK's Reform Party, has invested in London-listed Bitcoin company Stack BTC. Farage, through his company Thorn In The Side Ltd, purchased 4.3 million shares at 5 pence per share, acquiring a 6.31% stake in Stack BTC, valuing the company at £3.4 million. This £260,000 funding round also attracted participation from crypto company Blockchain.com as a strategic investor.

Stack BTC, chaired by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, plans to establish a UK corporate portfolio while simultaneously holding a Bitcoin reserve. Blockchain.com, which registered earlier this year as an FCA crypto asset business, will partner with Stack to develop a Bitcoin reserve strategy. Farage stated that he has long been one of the few political advocates for Bitcoin in the UK and believes London should become a major global cryptocurrency hub.

Coinbase has launched futures contracts in Europe.

According to its official blog, Coinbase announced the launch of futures contracts for Advanced users in 26 European countries, including Germany, France, and the Netherlands. This marks the first time European traders can access regulated crypto futures products on Coinbase. The contract types launched include perpetual futures (5-year maturity, hourly funding rate mechanism, daily settlement) and term contracts (monthly or quarterly expiry, daily mark-to-market at settlement price). Traded instruments include crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Solana, as well as index contracts such as Mag7+ Crypto stock index futures. Key trading details include up to 10x leverage on some contracts and fees as low as 0.02%.

Volcano Engine launches ArkClaw: OpenClaw, a ready-to-use cloud-based SaaS version.

According to the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, Volcano Engine officially launched ArkClaw today – an out-of-the-box cloud SaaS version of OpenClaw. Currently, users of the "Volcano Ark Coding Plan" can experience ArkClaw in advance, while users of the "Coding Plan Pro" can log in and use ArkClaw synchronously. Users of the "Coding Plan Lite" can enjoy a free 7-day trial. After subscribing, ArkClaw "Lobster" can enjoy mainstream models such as the Doubao-Seed-2.0 series, Kimi2.5, MiniMax2.5, and GLM. ArkClaw works well with Doubao-Seed 2.0 Pro, delivering outstanding results for complex tasks.

Tencent's "crayfish" app, WorkBuddy, has officially launched.

Tencent Cloud announced the official launch of WorkBuddy, Tencent's full-scenario AI agent. It is fully compatible with OpenClaw skills and is also easier to use, more secure, and better suited for office work. Users can use it without complex deployment. WorkBuddy integrates a variety of practical functions, supporting document management, collaborative communication, and task tracking, helping users easily cope with diverse work scenarios. Tencent stated that the launch of WorkBuddy aims to meet the modern office's demand for convenience and efficiency, helping enterprises improve overall work effectiveness. Users only need to download the application to immediately experience its convenient features.

SOON: The soonBase L3 network will be shut down on March 26 to redirect resources to AI capital market development.

The Solana ecosystem project SOON announced on the X platform that its soonBase L3 network will be officially shut down on March 26. The team stated that, as the SOON ecosystem develops, resources will be concentrated on advancing the AI ​​capital market and the construction of related AI-driven products and infrastructure. The SOON mainnet and svmBNB network will remain unaffected and fully operational.

All users must withdraw their assets on soonBase L3 via the official bridging tool before March 26th. After closure, remaining assets will be transferred to a team-controlled contract on Base for safekeeping, and subsequent withdrawals will require manual processing by the team.

Reports indicate that Tencent's QClaw has begun internal testing: it will enable integration with "OpenClaw" on both WeChat and QQ platforms.

According to Sina Tech, Tencent is currently developing a product called QClaw, a one-click launcher for OpenClaw. After downloading the QClaw application, users can easily deploy "Xiaolongxia" (the open-source AI agent OpenClaw) on their local computer with a single click. The report points out that QClaw is not an agent framework rewritten from scratch by Tencent, but rather a productized encapsulation of OpenClaw. It addresses the question of "how ordinary people can more easily run, connect, and use it." According to currently leaked internal testing information, QClaw's core product form is a local one-click launcher. After downloading and installing, users can easily deploy Xiaolongxia on their local computer. If the user has already installed OpenClaw on their machine, they can directly link it with a single click. Regarding models, it supports domestic models such as Kimi and MiniMax, as well as custom models.

It is understood that QClaw is currently in the internal testing phase and is expected to be launched soon. As of press time, Tencent has not responded.

Security agencies: Suspected North Korean hacking group coordinates attacks on encryption companies to steal keys and cloud assets.

Security research firm Ctrl-Alt-Intel disclosed that a group of hackers, suspected to be linked to North Korea, launched attacks against staking platforms, exchange software vendors, and cryptocurrency exchanges. The attackers exploited the React2Shell vulnerability (CVE-2025-55182) and stolen AWS credentials to infiltrate cloud environments, stealing information from S3, EC2, and other resources, and extracting keys from Secrets Manager, Terraform files, Kubernetes configurations, and Docker containers.

Hackers downloaded five Docker images and stole their source code, involving ChainUp customer software components. The attacking server is located in South Korea (64.176.226[.]36) and uses the domain itemnania[.]com. The attribution confidence is currently medium, and the source of the AWS credentials is not yet clear.

Investment and financing news

Stablecoin payment company KAST has raised $80 million in funding, valuing the company at approximately $600 million.

According to Bloomberg, stablecoin payment company KAST has completed an $80 million funding round, co-led by QED Investors and Left Lane Capital. The funds will be used for expansion in North America, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as hiring, licensing applications, and product development. The new round values ​​the company at approximately $600 million. Sources familiar with the matter said the terms of the funding round were finalized in October, and the company's annualized revenue this year is expected to reach $100 million.

Opinions & Analysis

Analysis: Bitcoin demonstrates significant resilience, and options trading suggests that market concerns about a potential crash have eased.

According to QCP Capital's latest market commentary, despite escalating tensions with Iran over the weekend pushing oil prices above $115 and global stock markets turning defensive, Bitcoin demonstrated significant resilience. Options flows also indicate that market concerns about further declines have eased, with bearish bias moderating compared to the initial shock earlier last week.

The report points out that US Treasuries and gold failed to provide their usual safe-haven function, as soaring oil prices exacerbated inflation concerns and pushed up yields, making the US dollar the preferred safe-haven asset. Downside protection for Bitcoin remains, but options flows reflect more nuanced expectations; for example, buying straddles expiring in April suggests the market expects continued volatility rather than a one-sided decline. The highest open interest in March was concentrated in call options at 75,000 and 125,000, indicating a return of optimism for Bitcoin despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. This week's focus includes Wednesday's CPI, Thursday's jobless claims, and Friday's core PCE and JOLTS job openings data.

Analysis: The convergence of Coinbase's discount may indicate that Bitcoin selling pressure is easing.

Matrixport analyzed that since October, Bitcoin's price on Coinbase has consistently lagged behind other global exchanges, forming a significant discount. While this price difference is partly influenced by USDT price fluctuations, the persistent discount reflects a stronger selling tendency among investors on the Coinbase platform. An imbalance in fund flows from the US market is likely one of the key reasons for the continued market pressure in recent months.

However, when Bitcoin's price briefly fell back to around $60,000, the discount began to narrow and has now essentially returned to a neutral level. As we mentioned before, this kind of correction often means that most of the selling pressure has been gradually absorbed by the market, and Bitcoin's trading conditions are expected to improve accordingly. Recent price movements seem to confirm this assessment. Despite ongoing geopolitical risks and the overall weakness of risk assets, Bitcoin's overall trend remains relatively stable. This may indicate that the earlier period of heavy selling pressure is gradually coming to an end, and the market environment is expected to see marginal improvement.

Analysis: Strategy expects to have received $302 million in proceeds from STRC last week, which may be used to increase its Bitcoin holdings.

Michael Saylor's Strategy is raising funds through its STRC perpetual preferred stock, potentially allowing it to purchase more Bitcoin in the coming weeks. STRC is a yield-based preferred stock launched by Strategy in July 2025 to raise capital for its Bitcoin accumulation strategy. This mechanism translates investor demand for returns into funds to purchase Bitcoin by paying investors floating monthly returns, keeping the share price close to its $100 par value.

Data shows that STRC trading was active last week, with Friday's single-day trading volume reaching $188 million. According to BitcoinQuant's model estimates, the total trading volume last week was approximately $777 million, with about 97% of trades occurring above the $100 par value. Assuming a 40% capture rate, this could generate a net profit of approximately $302 million, enough to purchase approximately 4,334 Bitcoins. Strategy will disclose the specific purchase details in its latest filing with the SEC on March 9th.

SlowMist: Beware of the risks associated with USB versions of OpenClaw appearing on Taobao and Xianyu.

23pds, Chief Information Security Officer of SlowMist Technology, issued a security alert stating that USB versions of OpenClaw have appeared on Taobao and Xianyu, claiming that users can simply plug and play after configuring the model. However, OpenClaw grants excessive privileges, and malicious skills are difficult for ordinary users to identify, easily leading to asset losses.

Analysis: The Iran war has triggered a surge in the probability of a US stock market crash, prompting hedge funds to aggressively increase their short positions.

Senior strategist Ed Yardeni raised the probability of a market crash for the remainder of the year from 20% to 35%, citing the impact of the escalating war with Iran on global markets.

Important data

CoinShares: Digital asset investment products saw net inflows of $619 million last week.

According to CoinShares' latest weekly report, digital asset investment products saw a net inflow of $619 million last week, indicating that the market's initial reaction to the Iranian crisis supported the asset class. The first three days of the week saw a net inflow of $1.44 billion, but despite much weaker-than-expected non-farm payroll data, $829 million flowed out on Thursday and Friday. The report noted that rising oil prices offset the inflation easing expectations that the weak non-farm payroll data could have provided, but overall data showed that market sentiment was generally positive during a period of geopolitical tension.

The US contributed almost all of the positive sentiment, with a net inflow of $646 million, while Europe, Asia, and Canada saw outflows of $23.8 million, $2.2 million, and $3.6 million, respectively. Bitcoin saw inflows of $521 million, Ethereum $88.5 million, Solana $14.6 million, Uniswap and Chainlink $1.4 million each, and XRP $30.3 million.

Two major gold whales sold a combined $40 million worth of gold in the past two days, both realizing profits.

According to QCP Capital's latest market commentary, despite escalating tensions with Iran over the weekend pushing oil prices above $115 and global stock markets turning defensive, Bitcoin demonstrated significant resilience. Options flows also indicate that market concerns about further declines have eased, with bearish bias moderating compared to the initial shock earlier last week.

The report points out that US Treasuries and gold failed to provide their usual safe-haven function, as soaring oil prices exacerbated inflation concerns and pushed up yields, making the US dollar the preferred safe-haven asset. Downside protection for Bitcoin remains, but options flows reflect more nuanced expectations; for example, buying straddles expiring in April suggests the market expects continued volatility rather than a one-sided decline. The highest open interest in March was concentrated in call options at 75,000 and 125,000, indicating a return of optimism for Bitcoin despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. This week's focus includes Wednesday's CPI, Thursday's jobless claims, and Friday's core PCE and JOLTS job openings data.

Trading volume for crude oil-related assets on Hyperliquid hit a new high of $890 million in 24 hours.

As crude oil prices hit record highs, the 24-hour trading volume of crude oil-related assets on Hyperliquid also appears to have reached a new high, with CL and BRENTOIL having a combined 24-hour trading volume of approximately $890 million.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw net inflows of $568 million last week, with BlackRock's IBIT leading the way with $660 million in net inflows.

According to SoSoValue data, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $568 million last week (March 2nd to March 6th, Eastern Time). The BlackRock ETF IBIT saw the largest net inflow of $660 million, bringing its total historical net inflow to $62.47 billion. The Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) followed with a net inflow of $45.8851 million, bringing its total historical net inflow to $2.17 billion. The Fidelity ETF FBTC saw the largest net outflow of $153 million last week, bringing its total historical net inflow to $10.84 billion.

As of press time, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs was $87.07 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market capitalization as a percentage of Bitcoin's total market capitalization) of 6.39%, and a cumulative net inflow of $55.37 billion.

Ethereum spot ETFs saw net inflows of $23.56 million last week, with BlackRock's ETHA ETF leading the way with $133 million in net inflows.

The Ethena team and B2C2 deposited 6,500 and 3,050 ETH respectively into the exchange.