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Hex Trust, a cryptocurrency custodian and trading platform, has secured a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the firm said on Thursday.

The license, granted on March 1, allows the firm to provide cross-border money transfers and digital payment token services under Singapore’s regulatory framework.

The approval follows Hex Trust’s in-principle clearance from MAS in July 2024. With the full license, the company can now integrate regulated digital asset custody with trading and settlement services, including fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk.

The move aligns with Singapore’s efforts to balance innovation with regulatory oversight in digital finance. Other crypto trading platforms including Robinhood have outlined plans to introduce their products in the region this year.

Hex Trust has operated in Singapore since 2020 and also holds regulatory approvals in Hong Kong, Dubai, France, and Italy, according to the document.

The past few weeks have been highly volatile for bitcoin (BTC), with price action reflecting sharp swings. In the past two weeks bitcoin traded on an open-high, lower-close candlestick pattern with double-digit percentage differences.

The week beginning Feb. 24 saw bitcoin drop to a low of $78,167 and climb to a high of $96,515, a 23% swing. The following week, starting Mar. 3, recorded a low of $81,444 and a high of $94,415, marking a 16% swing.

These large candlestick formations are known as hammer candles, as defined by analyst Checkmate, where the lower or upper wick makes up 90% of the total price range, leaving a small body with a long wick.

Checkmate’s analysis shows that Bitcoin has formed a weekly hammer candle with a 90% lower wick only five times in its history. These instances occurred during the 2017 bull run, the late 2021 bull market peak near $69,000, twice in 2023—following the Silicon Valley Bank crisis and again after the summer downturn—and once in 2024, also during a summer lull.

While the data does not show a clear pattern in bitcoin’s cycle, the 2017 bull market correction stands out, suggesting that such formations could signal critical turning points in price trends. Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

Trump’s DeFi platform is currently sitting on a total unrealized loss of over $89 million across its holdings.

Bitcoin rose above $92,000 in Asian morning hours Thursday, with majors jumping as much as 5%, as traders await the first-ever White House Crypto Summit scheduled for Mar.7 for cues on future positioning.

BTC rose to $92,700 before profit-taking saw it decline to $90,800 in European morning hours. Dogecoin (DOGE) surged as much as 10% to lead gains among majors, with Cardano’s ADA, Solana’s SOL and ether (ETH) rising 6%. XRP and BNB Chain’s bnb showed muted gains with a 2.5% jump, underperforming a 3.5% rise in the CoinDesk 20 (CD20).

Thursday’s price action helped buoy bulls after crypto markets roller-coasted this week as President Donald Trump revealed plans for a strategic reserve of tokens, including XRP, ADA and ETH, on Sunday, sending the market higher by 12%.

But that euphoria was doused as traders awaited concrete plans and a fresh round of U.S. tariffs went into play, with broader markets retracting on Tuesday. There has been a steady ascend in crypto markets, in line with a CoinDesk analysis, as watchers expect clear plans to emerge at Saturday’s summit.

“Investors view this as an asymmetric event with high stakes,” Singapore-based QCP Capital said in Wednesday broadcast message, referring to the summit. “Will it serve as the unexpected catalyst that sends prices soaring, or will it expose crypto’s fragility and trigger a deeper sell-off?”

“Lens out. Corporate bond spreads are widening, with high-yield spreads now sitting at 290 bps above Treasuries, while the investment-grade vs. high-yield spread stands at 200 bps. While this isn't signaling panic, it's a trend worth monitoring closely,” QCP cautioned.

FxPro senior market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich noted that bitcoin's share of the crypto market exceeds 60%, which is typical in periods of fear, while ether’s share has dropped to a five-year low of 9% — a troubling sign for altcoin investors as any inflows are bound for BTC.

“Bitcoin continues to flirt with the 200-day MA, popping out on Tuesday shortly after touching that level below $83,000. Wednesday morning's market dynamics reflect cautious attempts to form a bottom,” Kuptsikevich told CoinDesk in an email.

“A return to the area above the 50-day at $97,000 is a marker of bullish success,” he added.

Crypto exchange Garantex halted trading and withdrawals after Tether froze about $27 million of its stablecoin USDT tied to the platform.

Sky Mavis released the trailer for Atia’s Legacy, a new MMO set in the Axie universe, promising enhanced gameplay and NFT-based referral rewards.

The crypto market is up today, mirroring stock market gains fueled by Trump’s delay of Mexico and Canada auto-industry tariffs.

The Ethereum Pectra upgrade introduces stablecoin gas payments and sets the stage for future innovations like Verkle trees.

One of the largest banking groups in the region, Dubai-state-run Emirates NBD, offers crypto trading services in collaboration with Aquanow and Zodia Custody.

A district administration in India digitized more than 700,000 land records, securing them on Avalanche blockchain to ensure transparency and prevent tampering.