The entire cryptocurrency market tanked in March when US airstrikes began targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. At the same time, Texas made news by moving to create a Bitcoin reserve. Amidst this volatility, several developments unfolded, including Coinbase's Base network enabling USDC payments for merchants, KindlyMD's substantial Bitcoin investment, X's foray into in-app trading, and EigenLayer's successful funding round. Despite the ups and downs of the market, several crypto projects raised hundreds of millions of dollars, indicating strong demand and investment in the digital assets industry.

The crypto market wasn’t the only one to have a kneejerk reaction to the geopolitical issues taking place this week. President Donald Trump just ordered US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites. This decision caused a market crash as stocks plummeted and investors fled from the increased global uncertainty. Iran’s central bank policy subsequent to a save on Nobitex. Yet they limited exchange operating hours, adding further instability to the area.

Meanwhile, Texas, too, is trying to assert itself as a crypto-friendly state. In June 2021, Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 21, an otherwise innocuous provision that lays the groundwork for the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The Texas Comptroller will oversee the reserve. Guiding management of the fund will be a crypto investment committee of three members.

Coinbase’s layer-2 network, Base, is increasing its usefulness by allowing merchants to accept USDC payments in a matter of seconds. This integration allows companies to accept Circle’s stablecoin directly via Base, the much-hyped Ethereum-bridging network. It makes for a smoother transaction experience which may increase adoption of USDC.

KindlyMD, a Utah-based telehealth provider, has raised an extra $51.5 million in PIPE financing. This improved capitalization will help KindlyMD as it strategically pivots into Bitcoin, aided by its proposed merger with Nakamoto Holdings. The company has now committed $763 million to build up its Bitcoin treasury. This development proves to be the latest sign of a bold bet on the future of crypto.

Few companies are making more aggressive moves to pivot into one than X (formerly Twitter). The new additions come as the company expands its in-app investment and trading offerings. With this action, they hope to lay the groundwork for a far more inclusive platform. Users will participate in social and financial experiences that could upend established investment venues.

The NFT market showed a divergent picture this week. The selling NFT wallets increased by 8.09%, now counting 38,494 sellers. NFT transactions experienced a marginal decline, down 0.63% to 1,709,086. NFT sales had a significant drop as well, decreasing by 18.43% to $116.9 million.

EigenLayer has raised $70 million in funding, for a staggering total funding of $234.5 million. This is significant news as it reaffirms the strong market appetite for innovative, costly blockchain infrastructure projects.

Even with the larger market volatility, 18 crypto projects and startups raised a total of $159.5 million this week. This demonstrates that there’s still plenty of venture capital interest and faith in the long-term prospects of the crypto industry.