US Department of Treasury Acknowledges Crypto Mixers can have Legitimate Uses for Preserving Financial Privacy

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March 9, 2026

The United States Department of the Treasury has recently acknowledged in an official report that cryptocurrency mixers can have legitimate uses for preserving financial privacy on public blockchains.

This comes from a March 2026 report to Congress titled “Innovative Technologies to Counter Illicit Finance Involving Digital Assets” (submitted under the GENIUS Act framework). The report explicitly states:“Lawful users of digital assets may leverage mixers to enable financial privacy when transacting through public blockchains. For instance, individuals may use mixers to protect sensitive information on personal wealth, business payments or charitable donations from appearing on a public blockchain.”

It further notes that as people increasingly use digital assets for everyday payments, mixers could help maintain privacy over consumer spending habits. This represents a nuanced shift from the Treasury’s earlier aggressive actions, such as the 2022 sanctions on Tornado Cash and designations of other mixers like Blender.io and Sinbad.io as tools primarily linked to illicit finance, including by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

The report distinguishes between: Custodial mixers; centralized services that hold funds and are already required to register as money services businesses with FinCEN, potentially providing investigatory data. Non-custodial/decentralized mixers; harder to regulate, no new restrictions proposed here, though the department notes they are often used by criminals for laundering.

While recognizing these privacy benefits, the Treasury still highlights risks: mixers remain a key tool for illicit actors; North Korean hackers laundered funds through them after stealing billions in crypto from 2024–2025. It recommends measures like “hold laws” (safe harbor for temporarily freezing suspicious assets during investigations) and other tools to balance privacy with anti-money-laundering efforts.

This acknowledgment has been widely reported in crypto media as a partial reprieve for privacy tools, reflecting growing acceptance of their dual-use nature rather than blanket condemnation. This marks a nuanced evolution from the department’s more aggressive posture in prior years, such as the 2022 sanctions on Tornado Cash (which were lifted in March 2025 following legal challenges and court rulings invalidating aspects of the designation).

The report explicitly recognizes that lawful users may employ mixers to safeguard sensitive financial details — such as personal wealth, business payments, charitable donations, or everyday consumer spending habits — from permanent public visibility on blockchains like Ethereum.

This admission validates long-standing arguments from privacy advocates and the crypto community that mixers are dual-use tools, not inherently criminal. It signals a potential de-escalation in blanket demonization of privacy tech, moving away from viewing all mixers primarily as laundering conduits.

Instead, the Treasury distinguishes between: Custodial/centralized mixers; already subject to FinCEN registration as money services businesses, with potential for data sharing in investigations. Non-custodial/decentralized mixers (harder to regulate; no new restrictions proposed here, though risks remain highlighted).

Positive for Privacy-Focused Innovation

This could encourage development of compliant, privacy-enhancing protocols like zero-knowledge-based mixers or alternatives like zk-SNARKs in tools such as Zcash or emerging DeFi privacy layers. Developers and projects in this space may face reduced legal uncertainty, boosting investment and job creation in privacy tech.

The report’s tone suggests regulators are weighing innovation against illicit finance risks more carefully, potentially leading to clearer guidelines rather than enforcement-first approaches. Despite the acknowledgment, the Treasury maintains that mixers remain a favored tool for criminals.

It recommends new measures to Congress, including: “Hold laws” — safe harbor provisions allowing institutions to temporarily freeze suspicious digital assets during investigations without liability. Potential new Patriot Act “special measures” restricting certain transfers. These could increase compliance burdens or enable quicker interventions against suspicious activity, even for legitimate privacy users.

Assets and protocols emphasizing privacy like Monero, or mixer-integrated wallets may gain traction as everyday crypto payments grow, helping normalize privacy as a feature rather than a red flag. Post-Tornado Cash delisting and this report, transaction volumes in privacy tools could recover from the chilling effect of prior sanctions, which deterred compliant users more than criminals.

This contributes to a more mature U.S. regulatory environment under evolving administrations, potentially supporting mainstream adoption while addressing national security concerns. The report reflects growing acceptance of financial privacy as a valid need in a transparent blockchain world, but it stops short of endorsing unrestricted mixer use.

It balances recognition of legitimate applications with calls for targeted tools to mitigate abuse, setting the stage for more nuanced policy debates rather than outright bans. The full 32-page report is available on the Treasury’s website for deeper reading.

A Look At German Press Agency (dpa)’s Report on Deportations in Germany

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Paul Ugbede Godwin

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March 9, 2026

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According to data reported by the German Press Agency (dpa) and confirmed by federal police, out of the total planned deportation attempts last year: 22,787 deportations were successfully carried out.

32,855 attempts failed before the individuals were handed over to federal police officials responsible for repatriation typically at airports. This means approximately 60% of attempts did not proceed to completion, aligning with headlines describing “some two-thirds” failing (as the failed attempts outnumber successes by roughly 3:2 in the pre-handover stage).

The main reasons for these failures include:In the largest category (21,341 cases), state police were unable to locate or bring the individuals to handover points often because they were not found at registered addresses. In 11,184 cases, the deportation orders were withdrawn or cancelled.

After handover to federal police, 1,593 additional attempts still failed; due to pilot refusals on commercial flights—514 cases—passive resistance by deportees, medical issues, missing documents, or last-minute legal interventions. These statistics have fueled political debate, with conservative lawmakers calling for tougher enforcement measures, such as improved coordination, extended detention options, or other reforms to boost success rates.

Note that overall deportations did increase compared to prior years around 20,000 in 2024, amid broader efforts to curb irregular migration through stricter border controls and policies.Similar high failure rates have been reported in earlier years around two-thirds in 2023 data and 62% in some 2024 analyses, highlighting ongoing systemic challenges in executing deportations despite political priorities.

EU-wide migration policies, as of March 2026, center on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum (adopted in 2024), which establishes a comprehensive, harmonized framework for managing asylum, irregular migration, borders, and responsibility-sharing across the 27 EU member states.

The Pact’s rules entered into force in mid-2024 but fully apply from June 12, 2026, marking a major shift toward stricter border controls, faster procedures, and enhanced external cooperation—amid ongoing political debates over human rights, effectiveness, and burden-sharing.

The Pact comprises 10 interconnected legislative acts aimed at creating a “firm, fair, and efficient” system: Border Screening and Identification — All irregular arrivals undergo mandatory screening at external borders including health, security, and identity checks. This feeds into an upgraded Eurodac database to prevent multiple applications and track movements.

Accelerated Asylum Procedures

Faster processing, with benchmarks like 6 months for standard decisions and shorter timelines for “manifestly unfounded” claims. Border procedures up to 12 weeks apply to certain categories; low recognition-rate countries, security risks, or misleading information. Unaccompanied minors are generally exempt unless posing risks.

Countries facing pressure; frontline states like Italy or Greece receive support via relocations up to ~30,000 per year across the EU, financial contributions (€20,000 per non-relocated person), technical aid, or other forms. This addresses past failures in burden-sharing but allows opt-outs via payments.

Streamlined returns for rejected applicants. Expanded use of “safe countries of origin” (EU-wide list includes Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, Tunisia, and others) and “safe third countries” (transit countries with loose connection criteria) to fast-track rejections or transfers without full merit review.

Provisions for derogations in high-pressure or “instrumentalized” migration scenarios. Member states are finalizing national implementation plans, with investments in infrastructure, detention facilities, and digital tools. The Entry/Exit System (EES) is phasing in (full by April 2026), and ETIAS (visa waiver pre-authorization) launches by late 2026.

In late 2025/early 2026, the EU finalized an EU-wide list of safe countries of origin and revised “safe third country” rules (formal Council adoption February 2026), enabling faster rejections/transfers. Humanitarian groups criticize this for undermining protections, as it may send people to countries with poor human rights records or no real ties.

The Commission released its first 5-year blueprint (2026–2030), prioritizing: Assertive migration diplomacy — Using visas, trade, aid, and conditionality to secure readmissions and prevent departures. Strong borders — Enhanced tech, surveillance, and controls. Firm, fair asylum — Efficient processing, abuse prevention, and talent attraction.

Effective returns — Boosting deportations, potentially via external “return hubs.” The approach reflects a post-2015 hardening, emphasizing deterrence, externalization; cooperation with Libya despite concerns over pullbacks, and returns over expansive protection. Arrivals remain managed through these tools, but challenges persist: high deportation failure rates in some states, NGO concerns about rights erosion.

The Commission pushes for more resources (proposed €81 billion+ in future budgets for migration/asylum).This framework aims for predictability and security but faces scrutiny for potentially prioritizing exclusion over humanitarian obligations. Implementation from June 2026 will test its real-world impact.

Bitcoin Has Crossed the 20,000,000 BTC Mined Milestone

By

Paul Ugbede Godwin

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March 9, 2026

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Bitcoin has crossed the 20,000,000 BTC mined milestone with circulating supply now at approximately 19,999,xxx BTC and continuing to tick up daily, marking a key psychological and economic threshold.

This means over 95% of the protocol’s hard-capped 21 million total supply is already in existence—achieved roughly 17 years after the genesis block in 2009. The remaining ~1 million BTC will take much longer to mine due to the halving mechanism, which reduces the block reward by 50% every ~4 years (every 210,000 blocks).

Current block reward (post-2024 halving): 3.125 BTC per block. This results in ~450 BTC issued per day (144 blocks/day on average), but that rate halves again in future cycles (next expected ~2028, then 2032, etc.). The issuance slows exponentially, so the final portions become extremely gradual.

As a result, reliable estimates and on-chain analyses place the mining of the last satoshis around the year 2140 — which works out to roughly 114 years from early 2026 for that final ~1 million BTC tranche.

This ultra-slow tail emission reinforces Bitcoin’s programmed scarcity and deflationary design: the first ~20 million BTC took ~17 years, while the last ~1 million will take over a century. After ~2140, no new BTC will be created, and miners will rely solely on transaction fees to secure the network.

A true testament to long-term monetary engineering. This milestone means over 95% of Bitcoin’s hard-capped 21 million supply is already in existence — a level of issuance no other major monetary asset has ever achieved with such predictability and immutability.

Unlike fiat currencies which central banks can expand indefinitely or even physical gold whose supply is uncertain and expandable through new discoveries/mining, Bitcoin’s supply curve is transparent, auditable, and unchangeable by any single entity.

The remaining 1 million BTC will enter circulation extremely slowly due to ongoing halvings (next one ~2028, dropping the reward to 1.5625 BTC/block, and so on), stretching issuance over roughly 114 years until ~2140. This amplifies Bitcoin’s “digital gold” or “hard money” narrative: new supply is now negligible while demand drivers continue to grow.

Many analysts view this as a structural tailwind for long-term price appreciation through supply compression — less new BTC flooding the market means existing coins become relatively scarcer if/when demand rises. The block reward (currently 3.125 BTC) still dominates miner revenue, but each halving accelerates the transition toward a fee-only system.

By ~2140 (when the final satoshis are mined), miners will rely entirely on transaction fees to cover costs and secure the chain. This milestone highlights that the “tail emission” phase has begun in earnest — new issuance will become trivial compared to potential fee revenue from higher network usage.

If Bitcoin becomes a widely used settlement layer or store of value, transaction volume could generate sufficient fees to sustain high hashrate/security (some compare it to how gold mining persists today despite no “new gold issuance” in the monetary sense).

If on-chain activity remains low or fees don’t scale adequately, miner incentives could weaken over decades, potentially risking lower hashrate and network vulnerability though many Bitcoin proponents argue market forces — higher fees during congestion, efficiency improvements, and fee market dynamics — will naturally balance this.

The 20M mark serves as a reminder that Bitcoin’s security budget is gradually shifting from inflationary subsidy to real economic usage — a deliberate design choice by Satoshi to avoid perpetual inflation.

Hitting 20M is largely symbolic but powerful: it visually proves the protocol has executed flawlessly for 17+ years through multiple halvings, crashes, regulatory battles, and technological upgrades. It strengthens the “proven scarcity” story at a time when more capital is flowing into Bitcoin, potentially tightening liquid supply even further.

This can contribute to volatility in either direction short-term, but long-term it bolsters confidence in Bitcoin as a non-sovereign, predictable asset in an era of fiat debasement and uncertainty. This isn’t just a number — it’s concrete evidence that Bitcoin’s monetary policy is working as designed.

The first ~95% took ~17 years; the last ~5% will take over a century. That asymmetry cements Bitcoin’s deflationary character and forces the network to evolve toward sustainable, usage-based security. Whether that leads to higher valuation, broader adoption, or new challenges for miners remains one of the most fascinating open questions in finance.

AI Data Center Startup, Nscale, Secures $2bn Series C Backed By Nvidia

By

Samuel Nwite

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March 9, 2026

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AI data center startup Nscale has raised $2 billion in a Series C funding round at a $14.6 billion valuation, positioning the company as a pivotal player in the surging AI infrastructure market.

The funding underscores investor confidence in Nscale’s strategy to build vertically integrated AI data centers capable of supporting the massive computational demands of next-generation artificial intelligence.

The round was led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries, with participation from Nvidia, Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, Lenovo, Nokia, and Point72, among others. Previous investors such as Astra Capital Management and Linden Advisors also participated, reflecting broad institutional confidence in the AI infrastructure space.

Nscale simultaneously announced high-profile board additions, including former Meta Platforms COO Sheryl Sandberg, former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister and Meta executive Nick Clegg, and former Yahoo President Susan Decker. These appointments strengthen governance and international experience at a critical time, as Nscale navigates global expansion and regulatory complexities in AI infrastructure. Analysts note that their presence signals Nscale’s ambitions for an IPO, which the company confirmed it is exploring.

Founded in 2024 by Josh Payne, Nscale has rapidly become a key player in the AI infrastructure market, operating data centers across the United Kingdom, the United States, Norway, Portugal, and Iceland. Its vertically integrated approach spans GPU computing, networking, orchestration software, and data services, allowing tighter control over performance and reliability for large AI workloads.

Payne described AI infrastructure as “the engine of superintelligence” and compared the current buildout to the largest infrastructure expansion in history. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has similarly described the market as a generational opportunity for companies supplying the backbone of AI.

Nscale has established strategic partnerships with top technology firms. In October, the company expanded its partnership with Microsoft, potentially generating $14 billion in business tied to Microsoft’s AI and cloud platforms. Over the summer, it collaborated with OpenAI to launch the Stargate-branded AI data center in Norway, providing specialized infrastructure to accelerate AI model training.

Such collaborations reflect a trend among Big Tech companies to secure dedicated AI infrastructure, avoiding reliance on commodity cloud providers and ensuring performance for large-scale models. Analysts say Nscale’s partnerships could make it a critical “first-tier” infrastructure provider in Europe and North America.

Funding History and Capital Strategy

Nscale’s latest funding builds on a series of recent capital raises: a $1.1 billion Series B in September 2025, a $1.4 billion delayed draw term loan in February 2026, and a $433 million pre-Series C SAFE round in October 2025. This aggressive funding strategy has enabled rapid scaling of data centers and investment in proprietary technology, giving Nscale a competitive advantage over traditional colocation and cloud providers.

The Series C round highlights a broader trend: investors increasingly prioritize “infrastructure plays” in AI rather than applications alone. Analysts suggest that companies like Nscale represent the backbone of the AI economy, supplying compute capacity critical for companies deploying models at scale.

Competitors in this space include CoreWeave, Lambda Labs, and traditional hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, but Nscale’s vertically integrated approach and strategic partnerships differentiate it as a potential market leader.

Analysts warn, however, that the AI infrastructure market is highly capital-intensive and subject to geopolitical and energy supply risks. Nscale’s operations across Europe and North America expose it to energy cost fluctuations and regulatory scrutiny, which may influence operating margins in the medium term.

With fresh capital and high-profile board oversight, Nscale is poised to expand its global footprint and reinforce its position as a core provider of AI infrastructure. The company is expected to accelerate the deployment of new data centers, broaden its partnerships with Big Tech, and potentially pursue an IPO in the next 18-24 months.

Analysts see Nscale’s rise as emblematic of a growing trend in the industry. As AI adoption grows, the companies controlling the underlying compute, storage, and networking infrastructure are becoming some of the most strategically important players in technology. This is because they shape the capabilities of the next generation of AI applications.

Oil’s 25% Surge Ripples Across Global Markets, Gold Fell More Than 2%

By

Samuel Nwite

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March 9, 2026

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Oil markets jolted global financial assets on Monday as a sharp escalation in the Middle East conflict sent crude prices surging and forced governments and investors to reassess the economic fallout from a potential supply shock.

Brent crude briefly climbed to $119.50 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate touched $119.48, marking the strongest intraday levels since mid-2022 and putting Brent on track for one of its largest single-day advances on record. The rally was driven by mounting concerns over disrupted production and shipping routes across the Persian Gulf, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply moves.

The spike in crude prices came as several major regional producers — including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates — began reducing production amid rising operational risks and storage constraints. Analysts warned that the situation could tighten global supplies further if the conflict deepens or shipping disruptions intensify.

“The violent reaction stems from the markets seeing no obvious offramp in the escalating Middle East conflict, now a high-stakes standoff where neither side appears willing to blink first,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note. “The risk of more lasting economic damage continues to build by the day.”

The geopolitical escalation coincided with a political development in Tehran. Iran announced that Mojtaba Khamenei will succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, as Supreme Leader, signaling continuity in the country’s hardline leadership as tensions with the United States and Israel intensify.

The oil surge rippled through global commodity markets. Agricultural products rallied sharply as traders anticipated stronger demand for biofuel feedstocks tied to higher crude prices. Malaysian palm oil jumped about 9% while Chicago soybean oil climbed to its highest level since late 2022. Wheat futures rose to their highest since June 2024, and corn prices reached a 10-month peak.

Industrial metals showed a mixed response. Aluminium surged to its strongest level in four years, with benchmark three-month contracts on the London Metal Exchange hitting $3,544 per metric ton. Supply fears intensified after regional smelters such as Qatalum in Qatar and Aluminium Bahrain declared force majeure on shipments amid rising regional instability.

Other base metals, however, faced pressure from currency dynamics as the U.S. dollar strengthened. The greenback hovered near a three-month high, supported by rising U.S. Treasury yields and fading expectations for near-term interest-rate cuts.

The stronger dollar also weighed on precious metals. Gold fell more than 2% despite the geopolitical turmoil that typically boosts demand for safe-haven assets. Analysts said the decline reflected the combined impact of a stronger dollar, rising yields, and mounting concerns that higher energy prices could prolong global inflation.

Indeed, the oil rally immediately reverberated through bond markets. U.S. Treasury yields climbed as investors braced for renewed inflation pressure stemming from higher energy costs. Markets increasingly expect central banks to maintain tighter monetary conditions for longer if crude prices remain elevated.

Governments around the world have begun scrambling to cushion the economic impact of the energy shock.

Vietnam said it is planning to temporarily remove import tariffs on fuel products to secure adequate supplies amid disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict. The tariff suspension, expected to run through the end of April, is being prepared by the Ministry of Finance, according to a government statement issued late Sunday.

In West Africa, supply concerns are also emerging. Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery suspended petrol loading operations over the weekend of March 7–8, highlighting logistical difficulties in maintaining a stable domestic supply during a period of volatile global crude markets. The disruption raised fears of renewed fuel shortages in Africa’s largest economy.

To stabilize supply, the Nigerian government — through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited — has moved to secure crude feedstock for the refinery via third-party international traders. Ensuring reliable crude allocation to the facility is seen as critical to maintaining local refining output and preventing petrol scarcity across Nigeria and parts of the broader West African market.

In Asia, South Korea is considering direct price intervention for the first time in decades. President Lee Jae Myung said Seoul will “swiftly introduce” a fuel price cap to shield consumers from soaring energy costs, marking the country’s first such measure in roughly 30 years. The government is also exploring ways to diversify its energy import sources to reduce vulnerability to Middle East supply disruptions.

The wave of policy responses highlights how quickly the geopolitical crisis is translating into economic risk. Higher energy costs threaten to ripple through transport, manufacturing, and food supply chains, raising the prospect of a renewed global inflation shock just as many economies were beginning to stabilize.

For financial markets, the key uncertainty now is the duration of the conflict and the extent to which energy infrastructure or shipping lanes could be affected. Any prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically vital energy corridors, would amplify supply shortages and could push crude prices significantly higher, with broad consequences for global growth and monetary policy.

US Department of Treasury Acknowledges Crypto Mixers can have Legitimate Uses for Preserving Financial Privacy

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