Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy has acquired another 17,994 Bitcoin for $1.28 billion. The purchases, made between March 2 and March 8, averaged $70,946 per BTC. Funding for these acquisitions came from MicroStrategy's capital raise program, including its new STRC "Stretch" preferred shares, which contributed $377.1 million. This latest move brings MicroStrategy's total Bitcoin holdings to 738,731 BTC, solidifying its position as the largest corporate holder.
Separately, Nasdaq is partnering with Kraken's parent company, Payward, to develop tokenized equities. This initiative aims to bring traditional stock ownership onto blockchain technology, with a planned launch in the first half of 2027. The platform is designed to modernize market functions like corporate actions and shareholder engagement, offering tokenized shares with full legal equivalence to underlying securities.
The U.S. Treasury has also signaled a shift in its stance on crypto mixers, acknowledging in a report to Congress that these tools can have legitimate privacy uses for lawful transactions. However, the Treasury stressed that mixers are still frequently used by illicit actors. Custodial mixers may operate lawfully if they register with FinCEN and comply with reporting rules.
In other developments, stablecoin payments platform KAST announced an $80 million Series A funding round. The capital will support product expansion, team growth, and licensing efforts, as KAST aims to facilitate easier cross-border money movement for consumers and businesses.