Bitcoin Falls on Tehran Attacks as Justice Department Arrests Founder of $328 Million Crypto Ponzi

In this week’s edition of the weekly summary, Bitcoin fell to $63,062 before recovering following explosive attacks in Tehran amid US-Israeli operations and Iranian retaliatory missiles.

In other notable news, federal authorities arrested Goliath Ventures founder Christopher Alexander Delgado on charges related to an alleged $328 million Ponzi scheme, and MetaMask partnered with Mastercard to launch its self-custody payment card across the United States.

Crypto Markets React to Middle East Conflict

• Bitcoin (btc) declined to $63,062 before recovering to $66,201 following reports of large explosions in Tehran as the United States and Israel launched coordinated attacks across Iran.
• Ethereum (ETH) fell to $1,837 before recovering to $1,940 during peak volatility when Iran launched retaliatory missiles at multiple locations, including Israel, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.

Federal Prosecutors Charge Ponzi Crypto Operator

• The Department of Justice announced The arrest of Christopher Alexander Delgado, 34, founder and CEO of Goliath Ventures, on federal charges linked to an alleged $328 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.
• Delgado was arrested in Apopka, Florida, following a criminal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida for wire fraud and money laundering.

MetaMask expands crypto card to US market

• MetaMask and Mastercard have officially launched the MetaMask card in the United States.
• The self-custody crypto payment card is now available in 49 US states, including New York for the first time.

Magic Eden narrows deck focus to Solana

• The prominent NFT marketplace announced plans to close its Bitcoin and EVM-based trading platforms in early March 2026 and at the same time discontinue support for its multi-chain wallet.
• The platform will continue to exclusively support Solana-based assets.

MoonPay introduces AI agent wallet access

• The crypto payments platform launched A new product was launched on February 24 that gives AI systems direct access to digital wallets and on-chain transactions.
• MoonPay Agents, a non-custodial software layer, allows AI agents to create wallets, manage funds, and trade on behalf of verified users.

Morgan Stanley plans multiple Bitcoin products

• The banking giant has intentions offer several Bitcoin-related product offerings according to head of digital asset strategy Amy Oldenburg.
• These planned products would expand Morgan Stanley’s cryptocurrency exposure beyond its current limited offerings.

AI Security Tool Identifies Critical XRP Vulnerability

• An autonomous AI security tool uncovered a bug in XRP Ledger that could have helped attackers steal funds from any network account without accessing private keys.
• XRPL Labs revealed on Thursday that a vulnerability existed in the signature validation logic of the batch amendment.
• This was a pending update that allowed multiple transactions to be grouped and executed together.

Barclays explores blockchain payments platform

• The multinational bank is studying the creation of a blockchain platform for payments and other processes, according to reports
• The London-based financial services giant is consulting with potential technology providers to develop infrastructure to rival JPMorgan and others using decentralized technology for banking services.

Kalshi penalizes insider trading violations

• The prediction market firm revealed catch and penalize two users for insider trading activity, including an editor of social media star MrBeast.
• The company stated it has more than a dozen active insider trading cases among the 200 investigated, and Wednesday’s revelations detail two resolved matters, including action against Artem Kaptur, identified as working for James Donaldson’s MrBeast character.