Weekly Update: 27th of March
What happened between March 20 and March 27?
- The crypto market continues to move sideways. ETF flows are mixed and sharp volatility around market close remains a feature. Trump increasingly takes market-moving actions at weekends, when traditional exchanges are closed but the crypto market keeps running. Read more
- BlackRock’s first Ethereum staking ETF (ETHB) is seeing consistent capital inflows despite weaker market conditions for Ethereum broadly. Read more
- Fannie Mae now allows mortgage applicants to count crypto holdings on regulated US exchanges as financial reserves without converting them to dollars first — a historic shift in the American mortgage market. Read more
- The New York Stock Exchange partners with Securitize for the tokenisation of securities. A week after the S&P Dow Jones–Hyperliquid deal, another clear signal that traditional financial infrastructure is moving onto blockchain. Read more
Market moves sideways: mixed ETF flows and Trump’s weekend actions
The crypto market has been locked in a sideways pattern for weeks. Bitcoin trades around $71,000, with no clear breakout. ETF flows reflect that uncertainty: on March 23, $167 million flowed in; on March 24, investors pulled a net $74.5 million.
A recurring pattern is the influence of Trump, specifically at weekends. On March 21 he issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran, which drove Bitcoin down to $69,200 and triggered $299 million in liquidations. That same Monday Bitcoin bounced back above $71,000 following a policy shift. Trump appears to be strategically exploiting the fact that crypto is the only major asset class that trades through the weekend, something that has made investors increasingly cautious heading into Friday’s close.
First Ethereum staking ETF sees consistent inflows
BlackRock launched the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) on NASDAQ on March 12. In two weeks, the fund attracted over $212 million, a notably strong result given broad outflows from regular Ethereum ETFs.
The difference from a standard spot ETF is material. ETHB stakes 70 to 95 percent of underlying ETH through Coinbase Prime, giving investors an annualised yield of roughly 3 to 4 percent on top of price performance. Investors appear to be actively rotating from passive Ethereum exposure to a yield-bearing variant — an early signal that the ETF market is absorbing increasingly differentiated crypto products.
Fannie Mae allows crypto as mortgage reserves
Fannie Mae has published guidelines allowing mortgage applicants to count cryptocurrency held on regulated US exchanges as financial reserves without converting them to dollars. The move implements a directive issued by FHFA Director Bill Pulte to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2025.
The impact is significant. Millions of Americans who hold part of their wealth in crypto no longer need to liquidate those assets to qualify for a mortgage. Values are adjusted for volatility, and down payments still require conversion to dollars. It is one of the most concrete steps yet in the integration of digital assets into the traditional financial system.
NYSE partners with Securitize for the tokenisation of securities
The New York Stock Exchange has signed a memorandum of understanding with Securitize for the tokenisation of securities. Securitize will serve as the NYSE’s first digital transfer agent, handling issuance, registration and settlement of blockchain-native securities.
The goal is to extend trading hours to 24/7 and reduce settlement time to near-instantaneous. Just one week earlier, Hyperliquid received an official licence from S&P Dow Jones Indices for S&P 500 perpetuals. Two different approaches, but together they paint a clear picture: the line between traditional markets and crypto infrastructure is blurring rapidly, and the established financial order is actively joining in.
In other digital assets news
- The total stablecoin market capitalisation has exceeded $315 billion for the first time, a new all-time high.
- Broadridge has integrated Crypto.com into NYFIX, enabling institutional brokers to route crypto orders through the same infrastructure they use for equities and fixed income.
- Draft text of the US Clarity Act may exclude yield on stablecoins, causing Circle’s (CRCL) share price to drop roughly 20 percent in a single day on March 24.
- Hyperliquid reached a record single-day volume of $5.4 billion on March 23, driven by trading in oil, silver, gold and equity index futures.
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