Murtuza Merchant
444 News
1 Learns
Murtuza is a seasoned finance journalist with extensive experience covering cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. He has contributed to Benzinga and Cointelegraph, among other publications, reporting on emerging trends, the regulatory landscape, and more. Find him at @murtuza_merc on Twitter and mmerchant001 on Telegram.
Disclosure: Murtuza holds ATOM, AKT, TIA, INJ, and OSMO.
AI Is Transitioning The Economy, Not Breaking It
AI is driving real-time market repricing as automation compresses margins across SaaS and services, while a productivity boom could expand the broader economy.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 24, 2026
New Lawsuit Claims Jane Street Front-Ran Key TerraUSD Trades Before Depeg
The court-appointed trustee winding down Terraform Labs has filed a lawsuit against Jane Street, alleging the trading firm used non-public information to profit during the 2022 TerraUSD and LUNA crash that erased $40 billion from the crypto market.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 24, 2026
Top Analysts Say Bitcoin ETF Fast Money Exit Creates Entry Point For Capital That Actually Stays
Hedge funds cut Bitcoin ETF exposure by 28% as the basis trade lost profitability, but experts say the move reflects macro-driven deleveraging and a shift toward long-term institutional capital, not fading confidence in crypto.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 24, 2026
The Invisible Force Keeping Bitcoin Below $70K Has Nothing To Do With Crypto Anymore
Bitcoin trades in a tight range as macro policy uncertainty caps upside, even as corporate accumulation, ETF flows and stablecoin growth deepen institutional integration into crypto markets.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 23, 2026
$1 Trillion Stablecoin Bid For T-Bills May Cut Long-Term U.S. Debt Supply, Standard Chartered Says
Stablecoin reserve growth could create nearly $1 trillion in excess demand for U.S. Treasury bills, giving Washington room to reduce long-dated bond issuance and reshaping the global rates market, according to Standard Chartered.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 23, 2026
Blockchain Data Now Predicts Drug Crises Months Before Official Statistics, Chainalysis Finds
Blockchain analytics is evolving into a predictive intelligence tool, with on-chain drug payments signaling supply shocks and overdose trends months before traditional public health data, according to new Chainalysis research.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 22, 2026
Personal AI Could Replace Delegates In Crypto Governance, Says Ethereum Co-Founder
Vitalik Buterin has proposed using personal AI agents to vote in decentralized governance, a model designed to reduce delegate dominance, scale DAO participation and enable privacy-preserving collective decision-making.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 21, 2026
SCOTUS Strikes Down Sweeping Trump Tariffs In Historic 6-3 Ruling, $150B In Refunds Loom
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Donald Trump’s global tariffs were illegal, exposing the U.S. to over $150 billion in potential refunds and sharply curbing presidential authority over trade policy.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 20, 2026
CME Group Moves Bitcoin And Ether Derivatives To Round-The-Clock Trading From May 29
CME Group will begin 24/7 trading for its cryptocurrency futures and options on May 29, extending regulated crypto derivatives into a continuous market as institutional demand for risk management grows.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 19, 2026
South Korea Recovers $21M In Bitcoin After Hack, Hunt For Hacker Continues
South Korean prosecutors have recovered 320 Bitcoin worth about $21 million that vanished from government custody in 2025, after the funds were unexpectedly returned as authorities continue investigating the theft and broader crypto-storage security.
Murtuza MerchantFeb 19, 2026
