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🐳 Weekly Edition: Crypto Recovery Loses Steam, GENIUS Act Gets March 1 Deadline

The parents are still fighting over whether or not US companies should be able to offer stablecoin yield, but the end is in sight

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Beluga & Will McKinnon
February 27, 2026

The midweek recovery on BTC to $70k unfortunately lost its luster quickly as risk markets decided they didn’t like Nvidia’s earnings (I guess +73% y/y growth isn’t good enough anymore), with Bitcoin ending the week down about 3%. More interesting was the pop in altcoins in response to Bitcoin rising, with names like Virtuals and EtherFi rising over 10% on Wednesday. I’m not sure whether that action is a simple relief following brutal price action for months or if appetite for certain altcoins has returned, but it’s an interesting indicator nonetheless.

24 Hour Heatmap, Source: CoinMarketCap

Despite their attention being diverted to several other places, the US government still looks like it wants to push the GENIUS Act soon as the White House has set a March 1st deadline to resolve the stablecoin yield dispute. For those who haven’t followed, a war between crypto exchanges (namely Coinbase) and US banks has come to a head over the last few weeks: exchanges don’t want to lose one of their most valuable revenue sources, and banks don’t want to lose retail customers who will seek the higher yield offered by stablecoins.

It’s clear these yield markets should be regulated and the banks make valid arguments of the higher risks associated with the better APY, but if regulators think they can stop crypto users from doing the exact things they’ve been doing for years, they’re woefully mistaken.

This is a Pandora’s Box situation and in my opinion it would be a mistake to impede the progress of stablecoins which are largely denominated in US dollars — this doesn’t mean we should forget about proper safety measures, but it does seem like an odd hill for the people behind the GENIUS Act to die on given the inevitability.

Finally, Anthropic once again made headlines today, but this time not for being the best model… after they denied to assist in the creation of weaponry using their technology, the Trump administration has announced all departments should cease use of any Anthropic models with a full phase-out coming over 6 months. To me this looks like another emotional meltdown that we’ll likely see reversed, but the market is clearly unnerved with Ventuals price action showing Anthropic shares are down over 5% today.

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The content on this site is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. While Beluga strives to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of information, there may be discrepancies when comparing our data to that of financial institutions, service providers, or specific product websites. Always consult with a professional before making any financial decisions. Will McKinnon is the Head of Content for Beluga and has spent every day for many years trading coins. For that reason there are too many to name, however his largest holdings by a significant margin are Ethereum and Bitcoin. NFA DYOR