Bitcoin dips on Tehran strikes as DOJ arrests $328M crypto Ponzi founder

In this week’s edition of the weekly recap, Bitcoin fell to $63,062 before recovering following explosive strikes in Tehran amid U.S.-Israel operations and Iranian retaliatory missiles.

In other prominent news, federal authorities arrested Goliath Ventures founder Christopher Alexander Delgado on charges related to an alleged $328 million Ponzi scheme, and MetaMask partnered with Mastercard to launch its self-custodial payment card across the United States.

Cryptocurrency markets react to Middle East conflict

• Bitcoin (BTC) declined to $63,062 before rebounding to $66,201 following reports of large explosions in Tehran as the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes across Iran.
• Ethereum (ETH) dropped to $1,837 before recovering to $1,940 during the volatility spike as Iran launched retaliatory missiles at multiple locations including Israel, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.

Federal prosecutors charge crypto Ponzi operator

• The Department of Justice announced the arrest of Christopher Alexander Delgado, 34, founder and CEO of Goliath Ventures, on federal charges tied to an alleged $328 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.
• Delgado was taken into custody in Apopka, Florida, on a criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida charging wire fraud and money laundering.

MetaMask expands crypto card to U.S. market

• MetaMask and Mastercard have officially launched the MetaMask Card in the United States.
• The self-custodial crypto payment card is now available in 49 U.S. states, including New York for the first time.

Magic Eden narrows platform focus to Solana

• The prominent NFT marketplace announced plans to close its Bitcoin and EVM-based trading platforms in early March 2026 while discontinuing support for its multi-chain wallet.
• The platform will continue supporting Solana-based assets exclusively.

MoonPay introduces AI agent wallet access

• The crypto payments platform launched February 24 a new product providing artificial intelligence systems direct access to digital wallets and on-chain transactions.
• MoonPay Agents, a non-custodial software layer, enables AI agents to create wallets, manage funds, and trade on behalf of verified users.

Morgan Stanley plans multiple Bitcoin products

• The banking giant has intentions to offer various Bitcoin-related product offerings according to digital assets strategy head Amy Oldenburg.
• These planned products would expand Morgan Stanley’s cryptocurrency exposure beyond its current limited offerings.

AI security tool identifies critical XRP vulnerability

• An autonomous AI security tool discovered a bug in the XRP Ledger that could have aided attackers to steal funds from any network account without accessing private keys.
• XRPL Labs disclosed Thursday the vulnerability existed in signature-validation logic of the Batch amendment.
• This was a pending upgrade allowing multiple transactions to be bundled and executed together.

Barclays explores blockchain payment platform

• The multinational bank is examining creation of a blockchain platform for payments and other processes according to reports
• The London-based financial services giant is consulting with prospective technology providers to develop infrastructure rivaling JPMorgan and others using decentralized technology for banking services.

Kalshi penalizes insider trading violations

• The prediction market firm disclosed catching and penalizing two users for insider-trading activity, including an editor for social media star MrBeast.
• The company stated it has over a dozen active insider-trading cases among 200 investigated, with Wednesday disclosures detailing two resolved matters including action against Artem Kaptur, identified as working for James Donaldson’s MrBeast persona.