Weekly Recap: 20M BTC Mined, US Treasury Backs Crypto Mixer Privacy Rights

The past week delivered several landmark developments: unmined bitcoin supply dropped below 1 million coins, the US Treasury Department dramatically reversed course on crypto mixers, BlackRock debuted a yield-generating Ethereum ETF with staking, and Hyperliquid's cumulative trading volume surpassed $4 trillion.

Bitcoin Consolidates as ETF Inflows Streak Continues

On March 9, BTC briefly dipped to approximately $65,700, pressured by macroeconomic headwinds including rising oil prices. The recovery was swift — the price climbed back above $70,000 as crude oil retreated and equity indices pushed higher.

BTC/USD hourly chart on Binance. Data: TradingView

An attempt to test $74,000 fizzled out with a pullback to roughly $71,500. Still, bitcoin gained nearly 6.5% over the week. Spot BTC ETFs recorded net inflows for five consecutive trading days — the first such streak of 2026 — totaling $767.3 million.

Net inflows into spot BTC ETFs. Source: SoSoValue

Several major altcoins outperformed. Ethereum rose 7.6% to settle above $2,000, Solana gained 7.1%, and Dogecoin added 7.7%.

Weekly performance of major cryptocurrencies. Source: CoinGecko

As of March 15, total crypto market capitalization stands at $2.5 trillion. Bitcoin dominance is at 57%, Ethereum at 10%. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index remains at an extreme low of 15 points.

Crypto Fear & Greed Index. Source: Alternative

Less Than 1 Million Bitcoin Left to Mine

On March 9, the number of unmined bitcoins hit the 1 million mark — meaning over 95% of the maximum 21 million BTC supply is already in circulation.

Unmined BTC supply trajectory. Source: BitBo

The network continues operating on its fixed emission schedule: roughly 144 blocks per day, with difficulty adjustments every 2,016 blocks (approximately two weeks). Following the 2024 halving, the block reward stands at 3.125 BTC. While the first 20 million coins were produced in just over 17 years, the remaining million will take an estimated 114 years to mine.

VanEck noted that mining companies are actively diversifying their capacity toward AI workloads. Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets at VanEck, believes miners' access to scarce energy resources makes their equities among the most attractive investment opportunities. Hashrate Index analysts warned that the Iran conflict poses risks to bitcoin mining — primarily through BTC price volatility rather than electricity costs. Wintermute declared the traditional mining business model outdated, arguing that operators must pivot to AI hosting or learn to manage BTC reserves as working capital.

Why This Matters

Bitcoin's unmined supply dropping below 1 million coins reinforces the digital scarcity narrative that underpins long-term bullish sentiment. The US Treasury's reversal on crypto mixers signals a maturing regulatory approach — moving from blanket prohibition toward balancing privacy rights with anti-money-laundering enforcement. BlackRock's staking-enabled Ethereum ETF expands the institutional toolkit for crypto exposure, while Hyperliquid's record volumes underscore persistent demand for decentralized derivatives trading.

US Treasury Reverses Stance on Crypto Mixers

The US Treasury submitted a report to Congress acknowledging the legitimacy of using crypto mixers to protect financial privacy. In 2022 and 2023, the department had labeled mixers as money-laundering hubs and sanctioned Tornado Cash. Now it recognizes that law-abiding users need these platforms to conceal information about personal savings, business payments, or donations.

Criminal misuse remains a concern. According to Treasury data, North Korea-linked hackers stole $2.8 billion in cryptocurrency between January 2024 and September 2025, with $1.5 billion attributable to the Bybit exchange hack. Attackers routinely employ mixers to obscure transaction trails.

The department distinguished between custodial mixers (which must register with FinCEN and can provide client data to authorities) and non-custodial ones — for which no new restrictions were recommended. The Treasury asked Congress to pass legislation enabling:

• Freeze authority — allowing financial institutions to temporarily block suspicious crypto assets during investigations;
• DeFi regulatory clarity — defining which decentralized finance participants fall under AML requirements;
• A "sixth special measure" under US anti-terrorism law — granting powers to block crypto transfers outside correspondent banking relationships.

BlackRock Launches Ethereum ETF With Staking

On March 12, BlackRock's yield-generating Ethereum ETF began trading on Nasdaq. First-day turnover reached $15.5 million — Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart called the debut "quite respectable."

Spot Ethereum ETF metrics. Source: SoSoValue

The new ETHB product differs from standard ETFs by generating yield through staking, locking between 70% and 95% of its holdings depending on market conditions. After its first week, the fund accumulated $154.7 million in assets. By comparison, BlackRock's flagship ETHA manages over $6.7 billion and dominates the spot Ethereum ETF segment, which has a combined capitalization of $12.3 billion.

Hyperliquid Crosses $4 Trillion, Tests Prediction Markets

Cumulative perpetual futures volume on Hyperliquid surpassed $4 trillion. The platform reached this milestone in three years, with the pace accelerating: the first trillion took 733 days, the second 141 days, the third just 88 days, and the fourth 141 days.

Hyperliquid cumulative volume growth. Source: Reflexivity Research

Reflexivity Research analysts highlight the platform's cyclical tokenomics: growing trading activity generates more fees, which are directed toward buybacks and burns of HYPE tokens, steadily reducing market supply.

Early in the week, daily trading volume for crude oil perpetuals (CL-USDC) on the exchange surged from $21 million to $1.2 billion, displacing Ethereum as the second-most-traded asset on Hyperliquid. Open interest hit $183 million. The spike in commodity market volatility triggered forced liquidations of short positions worth approximately $75 million in a single day.

The Hyperliquid team also launched the HIP-4 protocol on testnet, introducing prediction markets as the headline feature — initially offering binary options on HyperCore base prices.