Over the weekend, the price of XRP (XRP) compared to Ether (ETH) reached its highest level in five years, continuing its recovery. On March 15, the XRP/ETH pair hit 0.00128 ETH for the first time since April 2020, marking a 925% rebound from its all-time low in June 2024 and around 620% gains since November 2024. Market watchers are speculating that XRP could surpass Ether to become the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with historical resistance levels indicating potential for significant rallies. XRP's market dominance has increased significantly since November 2024, while Ethereum has seen a decline in market share due to regulatory sentiment and competition from other blockchains like Solana.

The price of Toncoin (TON) saw a significant increase of more than 6% immediately after the release of Telegram founder Pavel Durov from France, where he had been staying since his arrest in August 2024. CoinMarketCap reported that TON's price surged by around 18% in the past 24 hours and over 13% in the last week. Following Durov's arrest in France on August 24, 2024, the price of TON dropped by over 35%, from approximately $6.88 to $4.44 by September 2024. Despite reaching a high of $7.20 on December 4, 2024, due to a crypto market rally after President Donald Trump's re-election, TON's price later plummeted by about 67% to a low of $2.36 on March 11, 2025. Toncoin is the cryptocurrency of The Open Network, a separate entity from Telegram but widely used by the messaging app's users. Durov's approval to leave France was seen as a victory for freedom of speech by Telegram and TON users, amid ongoing debates about online security and freedom of expression. Pavel Durov was granted permission to depart from France on March 13 to travel to Dubai, as confirmed by unnamed sources to the AFP news agency. It remains unclear whether the legal case against Durov has been resolved in French courts or if his departure is temporary while the legal process continues. French law enforcement has accused Telegram of enabling illegal activities by not censoring the platform, leading to charges against Durov and his confinement in France under a bail agreement. Durov expressed that the arrest was unnecessary and stated that the company has a representative in the EU to handle legal matters, willing to cooperate if proper legal requests were made.

Pavel Durov, the founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, has left France and moved to Dubai after receiving approval from a French court. According to a report from Barron's, Durov was granted permission to travel to Dubai, a city known for its business-friendly environment and lack of extradition agreements with many nations. The terms of the court's decision are still unclear, but Durov's relocation has sparked discussions about jurisdiction, privacy, and the responsibilities of tech leaders in addressing illegal activities on their platforms. AFP reported that Durov left France with authorities' approval, and another source mentioned that he had been allowed to depart for "several weeks." This is an ongoing story, and more details will be provided as they become available.

Key takeawaysThe Bitcoin megaphone pattern is characterized by a structure with at least two higher highs and two lower lows, creating an expanding appearance. This pattern, also known as a broadening formation, reflects market instability and increased volatility when connecting the highs and lows with trendlines. It can indicate potential breakouts in either a bullish or bearish direction, observed in various financial markets, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The distinctive shape of the megaphone pattern signifies growing volatility and market indecision, with diverging trendlines showing a struggle between buyers and sellers. Traders utilize this pattern as a tool for technical analysis to forecast market movements based on its characteristics.

A bullish megaphone pattern has been identified on multiple timeframes, characterized by progressively higher highs and higher lows. This pattern implies a period of heightened volatility and cautious optimism. The subsequent breakout confirmed strong bullish momentum, validating the pattern as a predictive tool in a maturing market. Various trading strategies compatible with the Megaphone pattern will be explored in this section. One such strategy is the Megaphone breakout trading, which involves entering a trade when the price decisively breaks out of the pattern's boundaries with strong volume confirmation.

When the price rebounds from support or reverses from resistance with increased volume, it may indicate a stronger movement. Using tools like the relative strength index (RSI) or moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) can help confirm overbought/oversold conditions, supporting a reversal trade. Another strategy involves identifying false breakouts in a megaphone pattern, where the price briefly breaches support or resistance before returning within the pattern's boundaries, often with low volume. Traders should wait for confirmation of the reversal before entering a counter-trend trade, identifying key trendlines, monitoring volume for weak breakout signals, and setting stop-loss orders within the pattern. Risk management is essential due to Bitcoin's volatility and the megaphone pattern's erratic price swings, necessitating awareness of volatility, cautious position sizing, strategic use of leverage, setting stop-loss and take-profit levels within the pattern, and adjusting risk controls based on market conditions.

In order to avoid further downside volatility before the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, Bitcoin must close above the crucial $81,000 weekly level. The price of Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by more than 3% last week, but is currently trading above $83,748 as of 9:33 a.m. UTC, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro data. Analyst Ryan Lee from Bitget Research warns that Bitcoin faces the risk of significant downside volatility due to global trade tariff uncertainties. Lee emphasizes the importance of closing the week above $81,000 to prevent more downside for Bitcoin, as the market awaits the next FOMC meeting on March 19.

Bolivia's state-owned energy company YPFB is considering using cryptocurrency to pay for energy imports due to a shortage of foreign currency reserves and domestic gas production. A spokesperson for YPFB mentioned that a system has been established to use cryptocurrency for energy imports following government approval. Although the specific cryptocurrency for payments was not disclosed, stablecoins are commonly used for cross-border transactions. The fuel shortage in Bolivia has caused protests and strikes among workers, including farmers, as only a fraction of the public transport system is operational. YPFB's new purchasing system aims to support national fuel subsidies amidst the foreign currency shortage.

Written by Kadan Stadelmann, the chief technology officer at Komodo Platform, an opinion piece discussed the recent press conference held by the Crypto Task Force in early February 2025. The focus of the conference seemed to be more on pacifying the crypto industry rather than empowering individuals, despite mentioning regulatory clarity. The president's initiation of a working group for digital assets on Jan. 23 aimed to propose a federal regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins and a Bitcoin reserve. While progress is being made on developing a strategic reserve, there is a call for further elaboration on these objectives. It is suggested that the task force should take a proactive approach, similar to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), in addressing crypto issues rather than rehashing discussions on regulatory clarity.

To enhance participation in emerging markets like blockchain and AI, the US needs to implement a strategy to educate and empower retail investors. A shift from a conservative to a more progressive stance towards crypto, as seen in the UAE, is deemed necessary. The lack of a welcoming approach towards Bitcoin in the US has led to a brain drain, with entrepreneurs seeking opportunities elsewhere. To keep up in the competitive crypto landscape, a more radical approach is advised for the Crypto Task Force. Failure to do so could result in a loss of freedom and potential backlash from crypto-anarchists.

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a significant downturn since the beginning of 2025, with some investors describing it as the most painful cycle in history. Disappointment was expressed over changes in industry policies and the popularity of memecoins in the United States, leading to speculation about talent leaving the sector. Despite the current grim state of the crypto market, it is not the most brutal cycle on record, and many community members remain optimistic. The recent decline in crypto markets followed Bitcoin's peak above $106,000 in December 2024, attributed to optimism surrounding Donald Trump's election victory. However, the current sell-off is not the worst in history, with the 2014-2015 cycle being possibly the most brutal according to Trezor analyst Lucien Bourdon.

Newly released court documents have revealed that FTX secretly liquidated $1.53 billion in assets belonging to Three Arrows Capital (3AC) just two weeks before the hedge fund collapsed in 2022. This disclosure challenges the previous belief that 3AC's downfall was solely due to market conditions. Initially valued at over $10 billion, 3AC collapsed in mid-2022 following a series of leveraged trades that went awry. Despite borrowing from more than 20 large institutions before the May 2022 crypto crash, where Bitcoin (BTC) plummeted to $16,000, evidence has recently emerged showing that FTX liquidated $1.53 billion of 3AC's assets shortly before the hedge fund's collapse.

The DeFi Steering Committee (DSC) of ZKsync has announced the discontinuation of the ZKsync Ignite liquidity reward program as the project shifts focus towards network expansion. The DSC confirmed that the second season of Ignite will not proceed and the program will end on March 17, canceling the reward allocation for period 6. ZKsync will now concentrate its resources on the Elastic Network, aiming to create an ecosystem of interconnected zero-knowledge (ZK) chains. The decision to end Ignite was influenced by current market conditions, with ZK token prices experiencing a significant drop from their peak in December. Despite the success of the Ignite program in boosting TVL to $270 million, ZKsync's TVL has decreased to $139 million.