Equities update | March 27th, 2026

Week 13 was characterised by a continued escalation in Middle East tensions, with temporary ceasefire announcements from Donald Trump failing to stabilise financial markets. The US bond market extended its sell-off, putting further pressure on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, as investors increasingly price in a prolonged conflict, sustained strength in oil prices, and second-order inflation from disrupted supply chains. On the corporate side, Bitcoin miners continued to execute on their AI pivot, securing additional contracts and financing facilities that strengthen balance sheets and reinforce the long-term monetisation of power capacity through HPC. Meanwhile, US crypto regulation progressed, with the CLARITY Act advancing following a potential resolution of the stablecoin yield issue. However, the ultimate impact remains uncertain, with greater clarity expected toward the end of April when the bill may move to a formal vote.

Week 13 key developments in Blockchain Equities:

• Index performance: This week, the Index declined (-2.5%) alongside Bitcoin (-5.6%). Although the US macro calendar was relatively light, markets increasingly priced in the longer-term inflationary impact of prolonged US and Iran tensions, driving a sharp move higher in treasury yields with the 30-year approaching 5% and the 10-year at 4.5%, levels last seen in July 2025. As a result, rate-cut expectations for 2026 have been fully priced out, with some probability of a hike now emerging, creating a tighter financial backdrop that weighed on risk assets, including blockchain equities and Bitcoin.

• Block Index key movers: 7-day top performers: Softbank (+6.1%), Citibank (+2.3%), eToro (+2.3) 7-day worst performers: Circle (-23.4%), SharpLink Gaming (-15.0%), Coinbase (-14.6%)

• Bitcoin miners continue to accelerate into AI infrastructure – Index constituent Cipher Mining announced its third hyperscale contract, a 15-year agreement with both the counterparty and terms remaining undisclosed. We suspect that the client wants to remain undisclosed due to the nature of pricing and they don’t want to compete with themselves with other clients. Nevertheless, having a diversified client base for their AI infrastructure solidifies their strategy and reduces client risk. From a financing perspective they raised 200m with 50m optionality at SOFR + 1.25% to 1.75%. Meanwhile, Core Scientific also expanded strategic financing facility to $1B with additional $500M commitment from J.P. Morgan. In parallel, Marathon Digital sold 15,133 Bitcoin, signalling a clearer strategic shift toward monetising power capacity for AI workloads rather than holding BTC on balance sheet.

• US Senators reportedly near agreement on the CLARITY Act with key restrictions on stablecoin yield – The latest direction suggests that interest-bearing stablecoin products will be limited or prohibited where they resemble unregistered deposit-taking, reflecting concerns around bank deposit substitution and financial stability. This outcome represents a relative win for the traditional banking sector, while structurally disadvantaging yield-native DeFi models and centralised “earn” programmes that have been a key driver of retail adoption. The primary equity impact is on Coinbase and Circle, both of which generate meaningful revenue from stablecoin balances and associated interest-sharing arrangements. If implemented in its current form, the restriction would compress a core earnings stream for both companies. That said, Coinbase may partially mitigate the impact through alternative incentive structures, such as loyalty, promotional, or subscription-based rewards, though these are unlikely to fully replicate the economics of yield-bearing products.

• Other news: Strategy Inc. (MSTR US) acquired 44,377 Bitcoin month-to-date, bringing total holdings to 762,099 BTC (+13.1% YTD). The company also introduced a refreshed US$21bn common equity ATM programme alongside a new US$21bn STRC ATM facility, reinforcing its capacity to continue scaling its Bitcoin treasury strategy. Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR US) announced that its MAVAN network is now live, a proprietary staking platform designed to convert its ETH holdings into higher-yield, native staking assets. Nasdaq and Talos announced a partnership to advance tokenised collateral management, bridging traditional and digital asset markets and supporting broader institutional adoption of on-chain financial infrastructure.