Rumors surrounding the "secret XRP contract" spread rapidly in 2026, with Ripple's Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz publicly denying it, emphasizing that no pre-allocation agreement had ever been confirmed. This incident originated from misleading posts on social media, drawing market attention and highlighting issues in the dissemination of cryptocurrency information, reminding investors to verify sources when confronted with sensitive news.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized the Financial Times report about his support for a accountability mechanism similar to that of the Bank of England, calling it "a complete fabrication." He emphasized that he had not proposed any related plans and expressed disdain for the Bank of England's communication mechanism. This incident reflects the sensitivity of the U.S. regarding the independence of its monetary policy, and it could impact the cryptocurrency market.

X Product Lead Nikita Bier announces that the Grok algorithm will be fully launched next week, marking a major transformation for the X platform. The new algorithm, "Phoenix," will use a completely new end-to-end learning approach aimed at enhancing user experience. Additionally, Elon Musk stated that the current algorithm needs improvement and emphasized the transparency of open-source code, which other social platforms have not attempted.

Gate News reports that on March 18, according to The Bitcoin Historian, Alliance Bernstein, a Wall Street asset management firm with assets under management of 850 billion dollars, stated that BTC currently has more resilience than ever before. The firm pointed out that against the backdrop of global conflicts, BTC is outperforming other assets, and Wall Street institutions are buying on dips.

Strategy announced on March 17 that it raised $1.18 billion through perpetual preferred stock (STRC) financing to purchase 22,337 Bitcoin, marking the fifth-largest acquisition. The STRC financing brought the company's total annual dividend obligations to over $1 billion. Going forward, the company will rely more heavily on STRC to avoid equity dilution, while also considering increasing dividends to support the stock price.

Korea's National Police Agency completes draft virtual asset management directive, first time including dark coin management and clarifying software wallet solutions. Over the past 5 years, virtual assets worth approximately 54.5 billion won have been seized, with police planning to select private custodian institutions. Experts recommend establishing a government-led custody system.

Gate News reports that on March 15, according to Caixin.com, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to begin in June, may become the World Cup with the highest "AI concentration" ever. Industry insiders estimate that during the World Cup period, global daily Token consumption could reach approximately 5.35 quadrillion, with World Cup-related Token consumption accounting for about 1.6 quadrillion. In comparison, global Token consumption at the beginning of this year was approximately 2 trillion per day.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has issued guidance on prediction market manipulation risks, requiring exchanges to consult with regulators before launching markets susceptible to manipulation. The guidance indicates that if contracts contradict public interest, they may be blocked, and sports contracts should cooperate with leagues to prevent insider trading.

Bitcoin recently broke through $70,000 again, influenced by changes in the energy market. Its price once reached $71,612 before falling back to $70,036. The market sentiment is related to discussions with the International Energy Agency about releasing strategic oil reserves, and the decline in Brent crude oil prices is seen as a signal to reduce inflation pressure. The market is focused on the Federal Reserve policy meeting, with expectations that if oil prices remain below $90, it will create room for interest rate cuts.

Gate News Announcement, March 9th, Elon Musk initiated a user poll on the X platform asking users whether they have ever purchased any products based on advertisements on the X platform.