Morning Report | Mastercard plans to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion; Solana Foundation launches aggregator Tokens on Solana; Bitcoin sees its first 8 consecutive rises in four years

整理：ChainCatcher

Important News:

• Solana Foundation launches token search and aggregator Tokens on Solana
• Mastercard plans to acquire stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for up to $1.8 billion
• Eric Turner steps down as CEO of Messari
• GSR spends $57 million to acquire Autonomous and Architech, entering the full lifecycle capital market of crypto
• Coinbase Developer Platform: x402 now supports any ERC-20 token and adds support for SIWX
• Michael Saylor: Bitcoin is not disrupted by AI and will be the main beneficiary
• Glassnode: Bitcoin experiences 8 consecutive increases for the first time in four years, with a median subsequent performance increase of 19%

What important events happened in the past 24 hours?

Mastercard plans to acquire stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for up to $1.8 billion
According to ChainCatcher, Mastercard plans to acquire stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent consideration. This acquisition news comes just four months after the collapse of merger talks between BVNK and Coinbase, which were valued at around $2 billion. Both parties issued a joint statement on Tuesday confirming the transaction.

Glassnode: Bitcoin experiences 8 consecutive increases for the first time in four years, with a median subsequent performance increase of 19%
According to ChainCatcher, Bitcoin has recorded an increase for 8 consecutive trading days, marking the first occurrence in nearly four years. According to glassnode data, Bitcoin has experienced at least 8 consecutive increases a total of 15 times in history, with 9 of those instances continuing to rise over the next 30 days and 6 declining, with a median increase of about 19% over 30 days.

Several companies in Vietnam apply for cryptocurrency exchange licenses, with 5 companies passing preliminary qualification review

According to ChainCatcher, Vietnam plans to launch a pilot project for licensed cryptocurrency exchanges as early as this month to restrict domestic users from trading on foreign platforms and strengthen capital flow regulation.

Documents from the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance show that 5 companies have passed the preliminary qualification review, including affiliated institutions of three private banks: Techcombank, VPBank, and LPBank, as well as securities broker VIX Securities and large private enterprise group Sun Group. The pilot period is set for 5 years, with a maximum of 5 licensed exchanges allowed, and the entry threshold is high, requiring a minimum registered capital of 100 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately $379 million), with foreign ownership not exceeding 49%. The Ministry of Finance is drafting relevant regulations that aim to prohibit Vietnamese citizens from trading on foreign cryptocurrency platforms, with violators facing fines of up to 100 million Vietnamese dong (approximately $3,800).

Analysts point out that this ban may force over 17 million cryptocurrency holders in Vietnam to withdraw from foreign exchanges such as Binance and Bybit. The enforcement timeline is clear, set to take effect 6 months after the first licenses are issued.

GSR spends $57 million to acquire Autonomous and Architech, entering the full lifecycle capital market of crypto

According to ChainCatcher, cryptocurrency market maker GSR announced the acquisition of Autonomous and Architech for $57 million, building an integrated capital market and fund management platform covering the entire lifecycle of projects from inception to expansion.

After the acquisition is completed, Autonomous will continue to operate independently, providing support for the launch and operation of tokenized organizations; Architech will become a core component of GSR's digital asset consulting business. This acquisition marks GSR's further transformation into a "one-stop capital market service provider" for crypto, strengthening its layout in institutional-level infrastructure and full-cycle services.

The integration aims to address the current issues in the crypto industry regarding fragmented services and inconsistent incentives in token issuance, governance design, liquidity, financing, and listing strategies, providing collaborative support through a unified structure. Additionally, clients will have access to GSR's existing institutional trading, derivatives, and asset management capabilities. GSR stated that the platform will also focus on enhancing the management capabilities of crypto project treasuries, covering liquidity planning, cash flow forecasting, risk management, and asset allocation strategies, promoting the transition of crypto funds from passive holding to sustainable returns and diversified allocation.

Coinbase Developer Platform: x402 now supports any ERC-20 token and adds support for SIWX

According to ChainCatcher, the Coinbase Developer Platform announced that x402 now supports all ERC-20 tokens. Developers can receive payments using the following methods: → EIP-3009 (authorized transfer) → Permit2. This means that USDC, EURC, or any ERC-20 token supported by Permit2 can be used for on-chain payments with x402.

In addition, x402 has added support for Sign-in-with-X (SIWX), addressing the issue of repeated access to purchased content; the x402 MCP software package can monetize any MCP tool and integrate it directly into AI workflows.

Argentinian court orders complete blocking of Polymarket

According to ChainCatcher, Buenos Aires courts in Argentina have ordered the complete blocking of the prediction market platform Polymarket, to be enforced by the national communications regulatory agency ENACOM, and have requested Google and Apple to remove its applications from local app stores.

The blocking was initiated due to a complaint from the Buenos Aires Lottery Bureau (LOTBA), which determined that Polymarket was essentially operating an unauthorized online gambling business under the guise of a "prediction market," and that the platform did not require identity and age verification, posing significant user risks. Argentina thus becomes the second country in Latin America, after Colombia, to impose a complete restriction on the platform.

Singapore stablecoin payment company Dtcpay completes $10 million Series A financing, led by Vertex Ventures

According to ChainCatcher, Singapore-based stablecoin payment infrastructure company Dtcpay announced the completion of $10 million in Series A financing, led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India.

The company has obtained a Luxembourg electronic money institution license to expand regulated payment services in the European Economic Area. Dtcpay builds stablecoin payment infrastructure for businesses and consumers and has partnered with Visa to launch a card that connects digital finance with traditional finance. Its platform supports real-time settlement between stablecoins and fiat currencies.

Eric Turner steps down as CEO of Messari

According to ChainCatcher, Eric Turner has stepped down as CEO of Messari, with former CTO Diran Li taking over. Eric Turner stated that this is the right choice for the future development of the company and that he will fully support Diran Li. He will continue to support the team as an advisor and looks forward to the company's future development.

Diran Li also stated that he will increase investment in Messari to make it an AI-driven company, providing services to institutions through research and AI products.

Michael Saylor: Bitcoin is not disrupted by AI and will be the main beneficiary
According to ChainCatcher, Strategy founder Michael Saylor stated, "If AI compresses terminal value and makes all moats short-lived, capital will flow to those assets that are not at risk of disruption. Bitcoin is digital capital, scarce, neutral, and unaffected by AI disruption. In this transition, BTC should be the main beneficiary."

US SEC plans to amend broker rule 15c2-11, excluding crypto assets from its scope

According to ChainCatcher, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has officially proposed to amend Rule 15c2-11 of the Securities Exchange Act, aiming to clearly limit the scope of this rule to equity securities.

Since its issuance, this rule has primarily been used to regulate brokers' obligations for information collection and review when quoting in the over-the-counter (OTC) market, with the core purpose of preventing manipulative and fraudulent trading behaviors in the OTC stock market. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins stated that regulatory rules should match the asset classes they apply to, and this amendment aims to clarify the regulatory obligations for quoting and to specify that the 15c2-11 rule will always only apply to equity securities.

AI robotics company RoboForce completes $52 million financing, led by YZi Labs

According to ChainCatcher, Silicon Valley-based industrial robotics company RoboForce announced the completion of $52 million in oversubscribed financing, bringing the total financing amount to $67 million. This round of financing was led by YZi Labs, with participation from Yahoo co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang. Additionally, existing investors, including Nobel laureate Myron Scholes, Gary Rieschel, founding partner of Qiming Venture Partners, and Carnegie Mellon University, also continued to participate. The new funds will be used to accelerate the development of the company's next-generation robotic foundational models, promote the scaling of general-purpose Physical AI robots, and advance manufacturing capabilities in preparation for commercial deployment.

The industrial sector is currently facing a continuously expanding labor gap: many physically demanding, repetitive, and safety-risk jobs still rely on increasingly scarce human labor, leading to prolonged project cycles and increased safety risks. RoboForce's solutions aim to take on these high-risk, tedious jobs, with application scenarios including large solar power plants, data centers, mining, shipping, manufacturing, and logistics.

Ray Dalio: Control of Hormuz will determine whether US global hegemony persists or collapses

According to ChainCatcher, Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, published a lengthy article titled "It All Comes Down to Who Controls the Strait of Hormuz: The Final Battle," pointing out that one thing is clear in the Iran war: it all comes down to who controls the Strait of Hormuz. If Iran still controls who can pass through the Strait of Hormuz, or even retains the power to negotiate: the US will be deemed to have lost this war.

If Trump and the US cannot win this war, they will be seen as having created an irreparable catastrophic situation. Regardless of the reasons for the US's failure to control Hormuz, Trump and the US will lose. Losing influence over Hormuz for the US will be akin to the impact of the 1956 Suez Canal crisis on the UK, as well as similar failures of the Dutch Empire in the 18th century and the Spanish Empire in the 17th century. The pattern of events leading to the collapse of empires is almost always the same, and this decisive "final battle" will determine whether US global hegemony persists or collapses.

Korean National Police Agency establishes guidelines for managing dark coins for the first time, compressing virtual asset market value by about 54.5 billion won in the past 5 years

According to ChainCatcher, the Korean National Police Agency recently completed a draft directive for managing compressed virtual assets, for the first time incorporating management guidelines related to "dark coins" (highly anonymous virtual currencies) into regulations, clarifying the management plan for software wallets (hot wallets). Dark coins have been used in criminal cases such as the "N Room" and North Korean money laundering due to the difficulty in tracking transactions. It is reported that the Korean police have compressed virtual assets worth about 54.5 billion won based on current market prices over the past 5 years, with Bitcoin accounting for about 50.7 billion won and Ethereum about 1.8 billion won.

Additionally, the police agency plans to complete the selection of private custodial institutions within the first half of the year, but previous three bidding attempts have failed due to issues such as a budget of only 83 million won and the small scale of qualified institutions. Experts suggest establishing a government-led professional unified custodial system to prevent security vulnerabilities and internal risks.

Solana Foundation launches token search and aggregator Tokens on Solana

According to ChainCatcher, the Solana Foundation product team has launched a token search and liquidity aggregator called Tokens on Solana, primarily addressing the issue of multiple variants of non-native assets on-chain.

Tokens on Solana aggregates all token variants of the same real asset onto one page, providing users with a one-stop search, real-time price viewing, 24-hour price fluctuations, trading volume, liquidity depth, etc., helping users quickly find the best prices and trading opportunities. Additionally, the official X account of Tokens on Solana will publish global news combining artificial intelligence and human editing, linking to related trading assets.

Based Foundation: BASED token TGE will be on March 30

According to ChainCatcher, the Based Foundation, a cryptocurrency trading and consumption platform in the Hyperliquid ecosystem, announced on X that the BASED token TGE will be held on March 30.

SlowMist Yu Cosine: Suspected group attack incident involving Morelogin browser, hackers have profited a total of $85,000 so far

According to ChainCatcher, SlowMist Yu Cosine posted on X stating, "A group hacking incident is occurring, hacker address: 0x913efc2062984288a0a083cd42b3a3422c07fcef, the hackers have profited a total of $85,000 and it is still increasing. Feedback from the community indicates that this group mainly consists of yield farmers, with private keys/mnemonic phrases being collected in advance by hackers. The hackers are currently consolidating related funds. If you are using the MoreLogin fingerprint browser, please be cautious, but there is currently no evidence that MoreLogin or related plugins are the issue."

Tether CEO to attend Trump TRUMP token luncheon and give a speech

According to ChainCatcher, the official announcement from TrumpMeme states that Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino will attend the Trump TRUMP token luncheon and give a speech.

Previously, it was reported that Trump will host a grand luncheon for TRUMP token holders, with Trump himself attending alongside 18 "superstars." The first 297 attendees will be allowed to participate in the April 25 luncheon at Mar-a-Lago, and the top 29 holders will be invited to a special VIP reception and champagne toast, sharing the stage with President Trump.

Meme Popularity Rankings

According to meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of March 18, 09:00,

The top five popular tokens in ETH over the past 24 hours are: SHIB, LINK, PEPE, UNI, ONDO

The top five popular tokens in Solana over the past 24 hours are: BARRON, Punch, UGOR, neet, Buttcoin

The top five popular tokens in Base over the past 24 hours are: PEPE, BASED, B3, TOSHI, toby

What are some interesting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?

CB Insights: Nine major predictions for the fintech sector in 2026, asset tokenization has become a trend
Powerful forces are converging that will reshape the financial services industry by 2026. Emerging banks are going public and applying for full banking licenses. Cryptocurrency-native companies are collaborating or competing with the world's largest banks. AI agents are beginning to autonomously transfer funds. These developments collectively signal a shift in how financial services are constructed and the ownership of customer relationships.

Ray Dalio: If the US loses Hormuz, it will lose more than just a war

In most wars, divisions and uncertainties are often the norm. But in this conflict surrounding Iran, the criteria for victory and defeat are exceptionally clear: who controls the Strait of Hormuz.

This is not only a channel for energy transportation but also a "valve" for global capital flow and geopolitical power structures. Once the right of passage is weaponized, its impact will quickly spill over to oil prices, inflation, financial markets, and even the entire international order.

The judgment given by author Ray Dalio in this article is quite direct: if Iran retains control over Hormuz (even just as a bargaining chip), this war will be viewed as a defeat for the US in terms of outcome. And the significance of this defeat goes far beyond the gains and losses of a military operation.