Real Vision analyst Jamie Coutts says Bitcoin is playing a “high-stakes game of chicken” with central banks, giving it a cautious outlook.

Online trading platform Robinhood has agreed to pay $29.75 million to settle several probes from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) related to the company’s supervision and compliance practices.

The settlement figure consisted of a $26 million civil fine and $3.75 million restitution to customers, FINRA said on March 7. Robinhood failed to “respond to red flags of potential misconduct,” FINRA said, leading to Anti-Money Laundering and supervisory and disclosure violations.

FINRA found that Robinhood Financial failed to reasonably supervise its clearing system despite there being noticeable processing delays due to increased demand between March 2020 and January 2021, which coincides with when Robinhood restricted trading in so-called meme stocks such as GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC).

FINRA said Robinhood Financial and Robinhood Securities also failed to detect, investigate or report manipulative trades, suspicious money movements and instances where customer accounts were taken over by third-party hackers.

Robinhood Financial was also found to have opened “thousands of accounts” when it had not reasonably verified the customer’s identity, FINRA said.

As such, Robinhood failed to establish and implement reasonable Anti-Money Laundering programs, the financial regulator added.

Robinhood also failed to “reasonably supervise and retain” social media communications by promoting posts from paid social media influencers, FINRA added.

“Some of these communications included statements that were promissory or not fair and balanced, and thus misleading to investors.”

Excerpt from FINRA’s investigation into Robinhood. Source: FINRA

The $3.75 million in restitution resulted from Robinhood Financial providing customers inaccurate or incomplete disclosures through “collaring” market orders by converting them to limit orders. 

Both Robinhood Financial and Robinhood Securities consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings without admitting or denying the charges. 

Related: DeFi’s Missing Link: Fixed Income (feat. Treehouse)

It comes just two months after two Robinhood entities reached a $45 million settlement with the US securities regulator on Jan. 13 after an investigation accused the company of violating more than 10 securities law provisions.

Robinhood Financial and Robinhood Securities “admitted to certain findings” in that investigation, which accused them of failing to maintain and preserve electronic communications from customers between 2020 and 2021, among other things.

Meanwhile, Robinhood reported a company-record $916 million net income and over $1 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Crypto revenue accounted for $358 million of Robinhood’s $672 million transaction-based revenues — a 200% year-on-year increase — while crypto trading volumes rose 450% year-on-year to $71 billion.

Magazine: Meet lawyer Max Burwick — ‘The ambulance chaser of crypto’

Robinhood agreed to pay $29.75 million in fines and restitution for failing to respond to several “red flags” stemming from its supervision and compliance practices.

Crypto exchange Gemini to file for initial public offering

Gemini is reportedly mulling an initial public offering this year, with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup involved in the process.

The exchange, founded by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has not made a final decision about the details of the listing, according to a March 7 Bloomberg report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Gemini did not immediately respond to Cointelegraphs request for comment.

This comes as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission closed its investigation into Gemini on Feb. 26, adding to a growing list of firms that have escaped the regulator’s scrutiny for now. 

In 2021, Coinbase became the first crypto exchange to go public in the US, listing shares of its stock on the Nasdaq.

Kraken joining the initial public offering club

Crypto exchange Kraken is also reportedly planning to go public, with a possible IPO slated for early next year, according to a March 7 Bloomberg report, also citing people familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg’s sources claim Kraken is currently considering launching its IPO in the first quarter of 2026. However, the details are not yet set in stone and could change.

Kraken did not immediately respond to Cointelegraphs request for comment.

Crypto exchange-traded fund issuer Bitwise predicted that at least five crypto unicorns would go public in 2025, including stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto exchange Kraken.

The SEC agreed to drop its lawsuit against Kraken on March 3. The regulator sued Kraken in November 2023, claiming the crypto exchange illegally operated as a securities exchange without first registering.

It also argued that Payward Inc and Payward Ventures, which operate as Kraken, have violated securities laws since 2018. Kraken denied all allegations.

El Salvador closes then reopens vet hospital funded through Bitcoin profits

A veterinary hospital in El Salvador funded through the country’s Bitcoin (BTC) profits was closed and reopened by Bitcoin-friendly President Nayib Bukele.

Chivo Pets, which was first announced in October 2021 and then opened in February 2022, was closed by Bukele because of widespread social media complaints about waiting times, treatment received, and the perception it was a vet hospital for only rich people, Bukele said in a March 8 statement to Facebook.

Source: Nayib Bukele

However, only a day later, Bukele backflipped, saying in a March 9 statement he was reopening the hospital after he received tens of thousands of positive “messages, comments, videos, photos, touching stories, and endless posts” about the hospital.

Bukele said that after discovering the negative comments about Chivo Pets did not reflect the reality of the project, he is reopening the hospital and increasing its budget.

Source: Nayib Bukele

“It’s clear to me, that social media is not the best thermometer to measure a project,” he added.

Related: Only 4% of the world’s population holds Bitcoin in 2025: Report

The country also recently bought another six Bitcoin for its growing stash. In a March 10 post to X, El Salvador’s Bitcoin office said its holdings had now increased to 6,111 Bitcoin after the new purchases, worth roughly $500 million at current prices. 

Brazil postal service mulls blockchain and AI  

Brazil’s state-owned postal service could be planning to power some of its services using blockchain technology and artificial intelligence.

Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos announced in a March 7 notice it’s launching a pre-selection process for companies and specialists in blockchain and AI to present options to integrate the tech into its business, operational and internal supply management processes.

“The objective is to digitally transform the infrastructure and internal processes, improving the quality of the services offered and strengthening Correios’ position as a modern and technologically advanced institution,” Correios said in its notice. 

The tender, open from March 10 until April 11, asks interested companies to pitch solutions that have “high levels of security, governance and transparency.”

Other News 

White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks has rejected taxing cryptocurrency transactions to fill the US strategic Bitcoin and crypto reserve.

Meanwhile, former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried has reportedly been sent to solitary confinement for participating in an interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson that was not approved by prison authorities.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

Brazil’s state-owned postal service mulls blockchain, crypto exchanges Gemini and Kraken are reportedly moving toward an IPO, and El Salvador reopens a veterinarian hospital funded through Bitcoin profits.

Bitcoin prices continued to retreat over the weekend falling to just above $80,000 on March 10 in what one analyst has described as an “ugly start” to the week. 

“It looks like Bitcoin (BTC) will retest $78,000,” said BitMEX co-founder and Maelstrom chief investment officer Arthur Hayes on X following the asset’s decline. “If it fails, $75,000 is next in the crosshairs,” he added.

He also observed that there were a lot of Bitcoin options open interest suck in the $70,000 to $75,000 range. “If we get into that range it will be violent,” he said.

Open interest is the number or notional value of BTC options contracts that have yet to expire. According to Deribit data, there is $696 million in OI at the $70,000 strike price, $659 million at $75,000 and $680 million at $80,000 as derivatives speculators bet short on the asset. 

Bitcoin has plunged more than 5% over the past 24 hours, hitting $80,124 before a minor recovery to trade at $81,395 at the time of writing. 

Bitcoin price has declined over the last 24 hours. Source: TradingView

The asset has been extremely volatile over the past fortnight, bouncing between $80,000 and $95,000 on various trade tariff-related news reports and White House crypto announcements.

In late January, Hayes predicted that Bitcoin would return to $75,000 before reaching $250,000 this cycle. “At least my prediction could be wrong. I hope I’m wrong,” he said at the time.

A month later, he said that a Bitcoin “goblin town” was coming, predicting that the asset could fall to $70,000 as large hedge funds unwind their ETF positions. The asset fell to its lowest level in 2025 on Feb. 28 when it dipped into the $78,000 zone, and it appears to be heading back there. 

Market research firm 10x Research labeled it a “textbook correction” in a note on March 10. 

“With Bitcoin dipping below $80,000, approximately 70% of all selling came from investors who bought within the last three months,” the analysts noted before adding that this highlights “the dominance of recent entrants panic-selling into the decline.”

Related: Bitcoin slides another 3% — Is BTC price headed for $69K next?

Meanwhile, the Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index has fallen back into “extreme fear,” with a reading of 20 on March 10.

The volatility may continue this week as two key inflation reports are due in the United States, which could influence Federal Reserve monetary policy if inflation continues to increase. 

It comes as Canada has responded with retaliatory tariffs of its own as the Liberal Party elected a new president, former central banker Mark Carney. In his victory speech on March 9, Carney attacked Trump, who has imposed tariffs on Canada, stating, “Americans should make no mistake … In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.”

Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest

Arthur Hayes previously predicted Bitcoin could fall to $70,000, while 10x Research analysts has called it a “textbook correction.”

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development is reportedly looking to experiment with using blockchain and a stablecoin for some of its functions.

The department, whose duties include overseeing social housing, has so far discussed the possibility of using blockchain to monitor grants, ProPublica reported on March 7, citing a meeting recording, documents and three officials familiar with the matter. 

Also discussed was the idea of experimenting with paying a HUD grantee using a stablecoin, which could first be tested in one of the department’s offices before being applied broadly across other offices.

HUD, headed by Trump pick Scott Turner, has also been wrapped up in Musk’s cost-cutting blitz. Source: Secretary Turner Press Office

Two officials told ProPublica they believe the HUD blockchain experiment could be a trial run for the use of crypto and blockchain across the federal government.

A meeting last month discussed a project where the Community Planning and Development office, which oversees billions of dollars in grants that support affordable housing and homeless shelters, would track funds to one grantee on the blockchain.

One meeting attendee later wrote the need for the project was “not well articulated,” and a HUD official slammed the plan in a staff memo as “dangerous and inefficient.” They added it was unnecessary and complicated and that stablecoin payments would add volatility.

Related: Trump turned crypto from ‘oppressed industry’ to ‘centerpiece’ of US strategy

At a follow-up meeting, HUD staffers had a more mixed review, with some saying the blockchain project could involve paying grantees with crypto and one official saying it could be done with “a stable currency.” Another finance official said blockchain would be implemented across the agency, starting in the CPD.

However, a HUD spokesperson told ProPublica that “the department has no plans for blockchain or stablecoin. Education is not implementation.”

President Donald Trump has closely embraced the crypto industry, and the reported HUD experiment mimics the ideas of his cost-cutting czar Elon Musk, who supports using blockchain in a bid to curb federal spending.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the White House Crypto Summit on March 7 that the government would ”put a lot of thought into the stablecoin regime” in a bid to “keep the US [dollar] the dominant reserve currency in the world.”

Magazine: Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle 

The Liberal Party of Canada has announced Canada’s new prime minister is Mark Carney, a former central banker and Bitcoin critic with plans to fight back against the US’ recently introduced tariffs.

Carney won on March 9 in a landslide vote to choose the replacement for Justin Trudeau, who held the position for over seven years.

Carney served as governor of the Bank of Canada between 2008 and 2013 before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to serve as governor of the Bank of England for the next seven years. He told local media on March 1 that had he started the process of renouncing his UK and Irish citizenships.

Source: Liberal Party of Canada

He has opposed Bitcoin (BTC) since at least March 2, 2018, when he said Bitcoin’s fixed-supply cap results in “serious deficiencies.”

“If ‘those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,’ recreating a virtual global gold standard would be a criminal act of monetary amnesia.”

“The fixed supply of Bitcoin has fed a global speculative mania that has encouraged a proliferation of new cryptocurrencies,” Carney said during his speech on the future of money while serving as governor at England’s top bank.

Carney also said Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies had proven to be “poor short-term stores of value.”

“If you had taken out a 1,000 pound student loan in Bitcoin in last December to pay your sterling living costs for next year, you’d be short about 500 pounds right now. If you’d done the same last September, you’d be ahead by 2,000 pounds. That’s quite a lottery.”

In the same paper, Carney championed central bank digital currencies, stating that they could expand banking access to more individuals and businesses while suggesting it could help central banks “fight terrorism and economic crime.”

However, Carney was also a board member at payments processor firm Stripe from February 2021 to January 2025. During that time, Stripe implemented a range of crypto payment solutions between 2022 and 2024.Carney’s negative views on Bitcoin and crypto appear to be even stronger than Trudeau’s, who once described opposition leader Pierre Pollievere’s pro-crypto platform as “reckless.””Telling people they can opt out of inflation by investing in cryptocurrencies is not responsible leadership,” Trudeau said in September 2022.

Carney plans to fight back at Trump over tariffs

In his March 9 victory speech, Carney called out US President Donald Trump for “attacking Canadian families” and attempting to weaken Canada’s economy through tariffs.

“Donald Trump has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, sell and how we make a living,” Carney said.

Related: A third of central banks cool on launching CBDCs over regulatory concerns

The Canadian government has “rightly retaliated” with tariffs, which Carney said will remain in place until “the Americans show us respect.”

Mark Carney speaking at his March 9 victory speech. Source: Cable Public Affairs Channel

He added that Canada “will never be part of America in any way, shape, or form” — another comment in response to Trump’s aspiration to make Canada the 51st US state.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

Utah’s Bitcoin bill has passed the state Senate, but without its cornerstone, a clause that would have made it the first US state with its own Bitcoin reserve.

The HB230 “Blockchain and Digital Innovation Amendments” bill now only provides Utah citizens with basic custody protections, the right to mine Bitcoin (BTC), run a node and participate in staking, among other things.

The 19-7-3 vote to pass the measure on March 7 means the bill is now headed to Utah Governor Spencer Cox’s desk to be signed into law.

The reserve clause would have authorized Utah’s treasurer to invest up to 5% of digital assets with a market cap above $500 billion over the last calendar year in five state accounts — with Bitcoin as the only digital asset that currently meets this criteria.

The reserve clause passed the second reading but was scrapped in the third and final reading. Utah’s House then concurred with the amendment in a 52-19-4 vote.

“There was a lot of concern with those provisions and the early adoption of these types of policies,” one of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Kirk A. Cullimore, said in Utah’s March 7 floor session.

“All of that has been stripped out of the bill.”

Utah Senator Kirk A. Cullimore confirmed HB230’s amendment to scrap the reserve clause. Source: Utah State Legislature

Up until March 7, Utah looked likely to become the first US state to adopt a Bitcoin reserve, Satoshi Action Fund’s CEO Dennis Porter predicted on Feb. 2.

Two Arizona Bitcoin reserve bills and a Texas bill are now the closest to being passed into law, Bitcoin Laws data shows. Each of those bills obtained a successful vote in their respective Senate committees and is now awaiting a final floor vote in the Senate.

Race to establish a Bitcoin reserve at the US state level. Source: Bitcoin Laws

Of the 31 Bitcoin reserve state bills introduced, 25 remain live, including bills from Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma.

Bills from the likes of Pennsylvania, Montana, Kentucky and North Dakota have failed.

Related: Trump’s World Liberty bought $20M worth of crypto ahead of March 7 summit

It comes as US President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a federal Strategic Bitcoin Reserve on March 7.

The Bitcoin reserve will be seeded with Bitcoin obtained through forfeitures in criminal cases, while the Treasury and Commerce secretaries have been instructed to develop budget-neutral strategies to buy more Bitcoin.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions