Morning Minute: Bitcoin Rebounds as Oil Falls

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. And check out our new daily news show covering all of the top stories in 5 minutes or less, downloadable on Apple Pod or Spotify.

GM!

Today’s top news:

• Crypto majors rebounded after a Thursday am selloff; BTC +1% at $70.4k
• JPMorgan mentions Hyperliquid in latest research report
• TAO jumps 13% after Chamath and Jensen Huang discuss on latest pod
• Polymarket lands MLB partnership; Kalshi raises at $22B and sees record-setting day
• Myriad announces “milestone” seed round

🌍 Crypto Rebounds as Traders Bet the War May End Sooner Than Feared

Crypto rebounded Thursday after a brutal risk-off stretch earlier in the week. Bitcoin had fallen below $69,000 during the selloff, but risk assets recovered as oil reversed lower and markets reacted to comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting the war could end faster than many had feared.

U.S. stocks also recovered in the afternoon after Netanyahu comments circulated saying the war with Iran would end “a lot faster than people think.”

At the same time, oil futures that had been sharply higher earlier in the session turned lower, helping relieve some of the inflation and macro pressure that had been hitting crypto.

Key Details

• Bitcoin had slipped below $69K during the panic before rebounding to $70.4k
• Oil prices swung as much as 15% in intraday trading
• Gold fell 0.5% on the day and continues to be outperformed by BTC

🤖 Crypto.com Cuts 12% of Staff in an AI Pivot

Crypto.com is cutting 12% of its workforce, or about 180 employees, as part of what CEO Kris Marszalek described as an “enterprise-wide AI” pivot.

The exchange is reframing its operations around AI-driven execution, making this one of the more explicit AI-related restructuring moves from a major crypto company so far.

The layoffs also add to a growing list of crypto job cuts this week, following similar reductions at the Algorand Foundation and Messari.

Key Details

• Crypto.com is reducing headcount by 12%, affecting about 180 employees.
• Marszalek framed the move as part of an AI-driven operational shift.
• This is the company’s third workforce reduction in four years.

🏦 JPMorgan Is Now Talking About Hyperliquid

Hyperliquid is getting enough traction that JPMorgan is now explicitly mentioning it in research.

The Block reported that JPMorgan analysts pointed to Hyperliquid’s growing appeal among non-crypto investors looking for 24/7 oil trading exposure through perpetual futures.

That is another sign of Hyperliquid’s breaking out of the crypto-native conversation aind into mainstream. It is increasingly being seen as a platform where traders can access macro products outside normal market hours, one of the clearest and strongest use cases for crypto rails in 2026.

Key Details

• JPMorgan highlighted Hyperliquid’s traction with traders seeking round-the-clock oil exposure.
• The mention comes just after Hyperliquid expanded further into real-world and macro-linked perps.
• On a related note, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s rule change allowing tokenized securities to trade on the exchange

🎯 Polymarket and Kalshi Have Blockbuster Day

Prediction markets had a huge day on Thursday.

First, Major League Baseball named Polymarket its exclusive official partner for prediction markets.

The league also signed an “integrity framework” agreement with the CFTC, creating a formal channel for confidential information-sharing about threats to the integrity of baseball-related markets. Commissioner Rob Manfred said the agreements were meant to proactively manage the rapidly growing space.

Second, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kalshi is raising at a $22 billion valuation in an ongoing round, with Coatue Management leading financing that would total about $1 billion.

That is a huge number for the sector and another sign that prediction markets have nearly unlimited capital at their fingertips right now.

Key Details

• MLB signed an exclusive prediction-market partnership with Polymarket.
• Polymarket and Kalshi continue to set new records in volume nearly every week, crossing $5B combined for the past 3 weeks in a row
• WSJ reported Kalshi is being valued at $22B in a round led by Coatue, with total financing around $1B.

🔮 Myriad Closes a ‘Milestone’ Seed Round

Prediction market Myriad closed its seed investment round, with backing from MoonPay Ventures, Auros, EVG, Side Door Ventures, and Verda Ventures, along with individual investors including Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee, Blondish, and Luca Netz.

The team described the raise as a “milestone” for the platform.

CEO Loxley Fernandes said the new capital will be used to invest aggressively in product development, liquidity, and market expansion.

The raise lands at a moment when prediction markets are seeing stronger institutional and mainstream attention across the board, and higher and higher raises reflecting that attention (see Kalshi story above).

Key Details

• Investors include MoonPay Ventures, Auros, EVG, Side Door Ventures, and Verda Ventures.
• Angel investors include Tom Lee, Blondish, and Luca Netz.
• Proceeds will go toward product, liquidity, and expansion.

🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets

• Crypto majors are mixed but reversing after a Thursday selloff; BTC +1% at $70.4k; ETH -1% at $2,140; SOL flat at $89.2
• TAO (+14%), PI (+7%)  and FET (+7%) led top movers
• Oil fell 2% to $94.80 and Gold fell another 0.5% to $4,670
• Gemini shares rose ~7% after hours to $6.45 after news the exchange cut 30% of its workforce and will focus on prediction markets
• BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) hit $254M in AUM just one week after its March 12 Nasdaq debut

Corporate Treasuries & ETFs

Meme Coin Tracker

• Meme majors were mixed; DOGE even, SHIB +4%, PEPE even, TRUMP -1%, PENGU +2%, SPX +1%, FARTCOIN +4%
• Chibi (+5700%), fine999 (+6700%), PUNCH (+26%) and testicle (+24%) led top onchain movers

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

• Chamath and Jensen Huang discussed TAO in the latest “All In” pod, driving a 13% rally to $280
• Prediction markets are expected to have had record-setting volume Thursday amidst the opening of March Madness

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

• NFT leaders were red; Punks -1% at 28.9 ETH, Pudgy -3% at 4.06 ETH, BAYC -1% at 5.17 ETH; Hypurr’s -4% at 432 HYPE
• Chromie Squiggles (+4%) and Bearish (+55) led notable movers