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BTC remains down sharply as Fed stays on hold

Crypto News

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March 19, 2026

BTC remains down sharply as Fed stays on hold

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark fed funds rate range steady at 3.50%-3.75% on Wednesday, as expected.

Down nearly 4% ahead of the anticipated decision following a surge in oil prices and poor inflation data earlier on Wednesday, bitcoin remained sharply lower at $71,600 in the moments following the news.

U.S. stocks remain lower for the day, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 each down by 0.55%. The 10-year Treasury yield remains higher by a tick at 4.21%.

“The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain,” said the central bank in its accompanying statement.

The vote to hold policy steady was 11-1, with Stephen Miran voting to trim rates by 25 basis points.

The Fed also updated its economic projections. Of particular note was a sizable rise in inflation expectations — now seen at 2.7% for 2026 versus 2.4% previously. Inflation, however, is expected to drop to 2.2% in 2027 against 2.1% projected earlier.

The so-called “dot plot” continues to show expectations for one 25-basis-point rate cut in 2026 and one more in 2027.

The U.S. central bank must balance what appears to be a slowing employment market with inflation that remains well above its 2% target. Adding to that is the March attack against Iran, which has sent the price of oil to nearly $100 per barrel versus less than $60 earlier this year.

Investors will now turn their attention to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting press conference at 2:30 pm ET for further insight into the central bank’s outlook.

Algorand Foundation cuts 25% of workforce amid crypto market downturn: Algorand Foundation

DeFi

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March 19, 2026

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Algorand Foundation cuts 25% of workforce amid crypto market downturn: Algorand Foundation

The Algorand Foundation has laid off a quarter of its staff, citing macroeconomic uncertainty and depressed crypto prices as conditions worsen across the industry.

The Algorand Foundation has cut 25% of its workforce due to macroeconomic uncertainty and lower cryptocurrency prices. The layoff at the organization behind the layer-1 Algorand blockchain reflects broader challenges facing the crypto sector as market conditions deteriorate.

The Algorand Foundation’s reduction joins a wave of workforce cuts sweeping through crypto and blockchain companies. Other major players including Blockchain.com, Optimism Labs, and Gemini Space Station have similarly announced 25% staff reductions, signaling sustained pressure on the industry as crypto prices remain depressed.

Sources: Algorand on X

This article was generated automatically by The Defiant’s AI news system from publicly available sources.

Mastercard to acquire BVNK to connect on-chain payments and fiat rails

Fintech

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March 19, 2026

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Mastercard to acquire BVNK to connect on-chain payments and fiat rails

Expands capabilities to support greater choice in how people and businesses exchange value
BVNK’s digital asset infrastructure complements and extends Mastercard’s trusted global payments network, creating interoperability between fiat and stablecoins
Enables financial institutions and other customers to address new use cases with stablecoins, tokenized deposits and tokenized assets

Mastercard today announced a definitive agreement to acquire BVNK, a leader in stablecoin infrastructure, for up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments. The deal further expands Mastercard’s end-to-end support of digital assets and value movement across currencies, rails and regions.

Technology continuously evolves how value is exchanged between people and businesses. Digital assets powered by blockchain technology have the potential to make money movement faster and smarter. While nascent today, digital currency payment use cases are rapidly scaling, reaching at least $350 billion¹ in volume in 2025.

With increased regulatory clarity on digital currencies in multiple geographies, financial institutions and fintechs are looking to offer their customers payment choices enabled by stablecoins and tokenized deposits.

Today, card payments offer unparalleled user experience, reach, acceptance and consumer protections for billions of consumers at hundreds of millions of acceptance locations and digital access points. Crypto wallets all over the world have embraced cards as the credential of choice to bring utility to digital currencies in consumer payments. Incremental opportunities for stablecoins and tokenized deposits lie in use cases like cross-border remittances, payouts, P2P and B2B payments. Over time, speed and programmability may also solve critical pain points in capital markets, treasury management and other commercial areas.

The key to support these use cases is to connect these rails seamlessly to existing fiat rails, applying the security, reliability and compliance standards that are the bedrock of payments. Mastercard is investing to ensure these payment options can be plugged into its network to ensure accessibility, interoperability and trust.

As different digital currencies and tokenized deposits are issued and their use cases scale, so too does the need for highly secure and compliant payment orchestration between fiat and digital currencies across multiple chains. Bringing the capabilities of BVNK and Mastercard together will deliver trusted interoperability at scale that can seamlessly connect across systems.

“We expect that most financial institutions and fintechs will in time provide digital currency services, be it with stablecoins or tokenized deposits. We want to support them and their customers with a best in class, highly compliant, interoperable offering that brings the benefits of tokenized money to the real world,” said Jorn Lambert, Chief Product Officer, Mastercard. “This acquisition reinforces what we have always done, using innovation and technology to power economies and empower people. Adding on-chain rails to our network will support speed and programmability for virtually every type of transaction.”

The acquisition adds to the company’s recent commitments, such as the Mastercard Crypto Partner Program, to foster more collaboration and innovation to maximize the opportunity in the next phase of on-chain payments for all involved.

Since its founding in 2021, BVNK has built deep expertise and industry-leading infrastructure to bridge fiat and stablecoins. Today, the BVNK platform enables sending and receiving payments for its customers on all major blockchain networks across 130+ countries.

“For all of the advancements made in simplifying the digital currency opportunity, we have only scratched the surface of what’s possible,” said Jesse Hemson-Struthers, Co-Founder and CEO, BVNK. “This deal brings together complementary capabilities to define and deliver the future of money. Together, we’re able to deliver an unprecedented infrastructure for digital currency-based financial services.”

The combined activities of Mastercard and BVNK would deliver a digital asset- and chain-agnostic approach, allowing customers to access the solutions best suited to their needs, without being locked into closed ecosystems.

The transaction, which is anticipated to close before the end of the year, is subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.

Boltz Exchange Launches Atomic USDT Swaps For Lightning Network Users

Markets

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March 19, 2026

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Boltz Exchange Launches Atomic USDT Swaps For Lightning Network Users

Boltz Exchange launched USDT Swaps on March 18, 2026, introducing atomic, non-custodial swaps between sats on the Lightning Network and USDT on Arbitrum-based networks via USDT0.

The integration relies on USDT0, an omnichain version of Tether built on LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. USDT0 concentrates liquidity into a single token primarily on Arbitrum, eliminating the need for Boltz to build separate liquidity pools and integrations across dozens of USDT chains like Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism, Rootstock, and others. This approach delivers seamless swaps to and from USDT to Bitcoiners that do not care to understand the complexities of blockchain bridge networks. While giving DEFI a direct path to lightning payments, without counterparty risk.

Users also gain practical access to the world’s leading stablecoin, while sidestepping custody risks from centralized exchanges or anonymous “trust me bro” swap services, as well as the privacy trade-offs of KYC-heavy platforms. Business applications include topping up crypto debit cards that natively support USDT by converting Lightning sats in seconds, receiving Lightning payments when clients or counterparties send USDT, or merchants accepting USDT inflows but settling revenue in Lightning sats on their preferred terms—all without relinquishing control of funds or trusting third parties at any point. Its all open source.

Atomic swaps ensure trustless, simultaneous execution of trades across different blockchains or layers, preventing one party from defaulting after receiving assets. In traditional swaps, especially cross-chain, users face timing risks where one side could claim funds without delivering the other. Atomic swaps resolve this through cryptographic commitments (like hash preimages) and conditional claims: both legs of the trade either complete together or fail entirely, reverting funds to their original owners. Boltz achieves this for Lightning and USDT by routing through tBTC, Threshold’s permissionless ERC20 Bitcoin wrapper on Arbitrum. The flow is Lightning to tBTC via an atomic Boltz swap, then to USDT0 via a DEX swap akin to those on Uniswap, stitched into one irreversible transaction by the Router contract on Arbitrum. Gas abstraction removes the need for ETH on Arbitrum, making the process seamless for Bitcoin-native users.

Boltz plans to expand USDT Swaps across all currently supported Bitcoin layers, including on-chain BTC, Liquid, Rootstock, and Arkade, broadening the utility for businesses and individuals holding Bitcoin in various forms. Future updates will also incorporate USDT0’s Legacy Mesh, which is expected to enable direct support for additional chains such as Tron and Solana. Tron currently holds the largest USDT supply at approximately $83.9 billion according to Tether’s March 17, 2026 transparency report, underscoring the demand for eventual integration on high-volume networks beyond the initial OFT-focused deployment.

Kraken Is Pausing IPO Due To Market Jitters: Report

Bitcoin

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March 19, 2026

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Kraken Is Pausing IPO Due To Market Jitters: Report

Crypto exchange Kraken has suspended its plans for an initial public offering, sources familiar with the matter told CoinDesk.

The company’s parent, Payward, had filed a confidential draft S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025. The filing valued Kraken at $20 billion, following an $800 million funding round that included a $200 million investment from Citadel Securities.

Kraken had planned to go public this year but now faces a market environment marked by falling crypto prices and weaker trading volumes. The downturn has prompted many digital asset companies to reconsider timing and structure for public listings.

Last year saw a surge in crypto IPOs, with at least 11 companies, including Circle, Bullish, and Gemini, raising a combined $14.6 billion.

So far in 2026, only crypto custodian BitGo has listed publicly, and its shares have declined 45%, highlighting the risks for new entrants.

Kraken has not ruled out a future IPO but appears unlikely to pursue one until market conditions stabilize.

A company spokesperson reiterated the November announcement and declined further comment.

Kraken’s master account

Earlier this month, Kraken secured a master account with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, making it the first crypto-native firm to access the Fed’s core payment infrastructure.

The approval gives Kraken Financial direct entry into Fed payment systems, including Fedwire, a real-time network that handles trillions of dollars in daily transfers.

This allows the firm to settle dollar transactions without relying on intermediary banks, streamlining operations for large customers.

Kraken’s master account does not provide all traditional banking privileges: it will not earn interest on reserves or access the Fed’s lending facilities. Nonetheless, the move represents a breakthrough for crypto firms, which have historically faced repeated rejections in efforts to connect to the central bank’s payment rails.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming called the approval a “watershed milestone” for digital assets.

Other firms, including Ripple and Custodia Bank, have applied for master accounts, though approval has been uneven.

Kraken’s success is a sign the Fed may explore “skinny” master accounts, granting crypto institutions limited access to payment rails without full bank benefits, signaling cautious but growing acceptance of crypto in mainstream finance

Under such a framework, crypto firms could connect to settlement systems while remaining outside certain capital and reserve regimes applied to depository institutions.

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Bitcoin Price Fights For $70,000 As Fed Holds Rates

Crypto News

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March 19, 2026

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Bitcoin Price Fights For $70,000 As Fed Holds Rates

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its benchmark interest rate steady, maintaining the federal funds target range at 3.50% to 3.75%. Bitcoin price is fighting to hold $70,000 amid a complex backdrop of elevated inflation, slowing job growth, and war in the Middle East.

The decision marked the second consecutive FOMC meeting with no change in borrowing costs and followed a pause that began after three rate cuts last year.

Bitcoin price responded to the announcement with a drop in trading, changing hands around $70,500, down 3.6% over the previous 24 hours, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro. The cryptocurrency had flirted with $76,000 last week, reaching its highest level in over a month, but has since retraced as investors weighed inflation data and global uncertainties.

Voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee were split for a sixth consecutive policy meeting. Eleven supported holding rates steady, while Fed Governor Stephen Miran dissented, advocating a 25-basis-point cut.

In its statement, the FOMC noted that “inflation remains somewhat elevated” and that job gains have remained low, even as the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% in February. The Fed emphasized a data-dependent approach to future adjustments, signaling that any decision will rely on incoming economic information.

The backdrop for the Fed’s policy deliberations included the ongoing war involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran, which has pushed energy prices higher. On Wednesday, Bitcoin price fell in tandem with U.S. stocks following reports that Israel struck the South Pars gas field in Iran.

“Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated,” the FOMC said. “The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain.”

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell discussed the implications of rising energy prices at a press conference.

He said, “Near term measures of inflation expectations have risen in recent weeks, likely reflecting the substantial rise in oil prices caused by the supply disruptions in the Middle East.”

He added that it is “too soon to know” the full economic impact of the conflict and that policymakers would continue to monitor data closely.

Bitcoin price reacts to tariffs, rate expectations

Powell also highlighted the influence of tariffs on consumer prices, noting that “some big chunk of that, between a half and three-quarters, is actually tariffs.”

He described the current federal funds rate range as within neutral territory and emphasized the importance of central bank independence.

“Independence is what allows us to do our jobs, and stable prices is half of our mandate, it’s one of our two mandates – maximum employment being the other,” he said.

Bitcoin price markets have historically been sensitive to interest rate expectations, as lower rates tend to make cryptocurrencies more attractive relative to traditional assets.

Analysts suggest that the combination of higher energy costs, persistent inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty has prompted investors to reduce exposure to riskier assets, including Bitcoin.

Oil prices continued to climb Wednesday, with Brent crude rising 3.8% to $107.38 per barrel following the attack on the South Pars field.

Despite the recent pullback, Bitcoin price remains above $70,000 for now and has recorded gains of 1.6% over the past week. Traders are watching closely for any signs from Powell or the Fed that could influence future monetary policy.

Powell’s term as Fed Chair will conclude in May, with former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh expected to succeed him if confirmed. Powell’s future on the Board of Governors remains undecided.

He said, “I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality.”

At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is slightly above $71,000.