Crypto
Sunshine and Waves
(Getty Images)

Solana reclaims the $200 level as the total value locked for its DeFi ecosystem reaches a three-year high

Crypto treasury firms focused on solana hold in total 3.4 million tokens, with Upexi, DeFi Development Corp., and Sol Strategies taking the top spots.

Sage D. Young

Solana is leading market gains in the last 24 hours, increasing nearly 15% to around the $200 mark. The token’s trading volume in the period has also jumped, standing at $13.4 billion, more than double yesterday’s $6.1 billion figure, per CoinGecko. However, solana is still more than 30% away from its all-time high of $293 set at the beginning of the year. 

The cryptocurrency’s price action comes as total value locked denominated in solana tokens for the network’s decentralized finance ecosystem has climbed to a three-year high to over 58 million tokens, data from DefiLlama shows.

The $200 level “matters because tokens trade like commodities and a big slice of crypto liquidity sits in systematic and momentum strategies,” according to Matthew Graham, managing partner at crypto investment firm Ryze Labs. 

“Clear a round number and hold it and you trigger the reflexive loop where flows chase price and price pulls in more flows. If the other large caps start breaking out too, this might finally be the alt season everyone’s been calling for since forever,” Graham told Sherwood News. 

Meanwhile: 

  • Solana treasury firms are collectively holding 3.4 million tokens, the highest amount ever for these public companies, with Upexi, DeFi Development Corp., and Sol Strategies leading the pack, according to analytics from The Block.

  • DeFi Development Corp. released a letter to shareholders on Tuesday, stating that the company has a balance of 1.3 million solana tokens worth about $264.9 million and earns about $63,000 per day in solana-denominated revenue. 

  • Upexi announced on Tuesday forming an advisory committee with Arthur Hayes, the chief investment officer of family office fund Maelstrom. Hayes was the cofounder and former CEO of global cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, which pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act last year by willfully failing to implement an adequate anti-money-laundering program. However, US President Donald Trump pardoned Hayes in March, more than three months after BitMEX was ordered to pay a fine of $100 million.

More Crypto

See all Crypto
Sage D. Young
2m
Hyperliquid is the “1,000 pound gorilla in the room” leading year-to-date market gains amidst conflict in the Middle East

While the crypto industry has shed $564.3 billion in 2026, Hyperliquid’s native token has bucked the downtrend and jumped 54.8% year-to-date.

Gorilla
Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy
4h
Bitcoin tumbles as oil and gas prices spike and the market’s mood turns risk-off

Bitcoin ETFs reverted to outflows and bitcoin suffered $192 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours.

A Bitcoin ATM in Hong Kong...
crypto
Sage D. Young

Payward, parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, puts plans for IPO on hold

Payward, crypto exchange Kraken’s parent company, has paused its plans for an initial public offering until market conditions improve, according to a report from CoinDesk that cited two people with knowledge of the matter. 

Since the firm announced in November its preparation for an IPO of its common stock, the total market capitalization of the crypto industry has shed around $652.2 billion, from $3.2 trillion to $2.5 trillion as of Wednesday, data from CoinGecko shows. 

The news comes two weeks after Kraken received approval for a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, allowing the crypto exchange to connect to the Fed’s payment infrastructure used by traditional banks and credit unions. 

Last year, Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation from institutional investors such as Jane Street and Citadel Securities.

Payward, parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has put its IPO plans on hold

Payward, parent of crypto exchange Kraken, has put its IPO plans on hold

The news comes two weeks after Kraken received approval for a master account from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, allowing the crypto exchange to connect to the Fed’s payment infrastructure used by traditional banks and credit unions. 

Last year, Kraken raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation from institutional investors such as Jane Street and Citadel Securities.

crypto
Sage D. Young

SEC and CFTC issue new guidance on how securities laws apply to crypto assets

On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, together with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, issued an interpretation clarifying how federal securities law applies to crypto assets, a first step toward developing a clearer regulatory framework. 

The interpretive guidance introduces a token taxonomy for different types of cryptocurrencies, with SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins adding that “most crypto assets are not themselves securities.”

Examples of a digital commodity, “a crypto asset that is intrinsically linked to and derives its value from the programmatic operation of a crypto system that is ‘functional,’” include:

The guidance also includes definitions of digital collectibles (such as NFTs), stablecoins, digital tools, and digital securities (such as tokenized real-world assets and stocks).

This is a monumental step in the mainstream adoption of the industry and clears a hurdle in how crypto can operate going forward, according to David Pakman, head of venture investments at CoinFund. “This will allow new token designs with the confidence that their existence does not require registration with the SEC, etc.,” Pakman told Sherwood News.

Despite the clarification efforts from the two organizations, the market capitalization of the crypto industry has dropped about 2% in the last 24 hours as each of the tokens mentioned in the guidance are trading lower in the period, data from CoinGecko shows.

The joint agency action also complements congressional efforts to turn a crypto market structure framework into law. With the goal of providing regulations on the offer and sale of digital commodities, the CLARITY Act passed the House of Representatives last year and is now sitting in the Senate.

Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy
3/18/26
Citi analysts cut 12-month bitcoin projection to $112,000 from $143,000

The analysts’ bear-case scenario is $57,537, based on “recessionary macro-factors, especially weak equity markets,” which could cause ETF flows to stall.

Bitcoin ice carving

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC. Futures and event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC.
©2026 Sherwood Media, LLC