Gate Daily (February 28): U.S. Department of Justice seizes $580 million in crypto assets; Morgan Stanley applies for crypto custody license

Bitcoin (BTC) continues to weaken and decline, currently around $65,850 as of February 28. U.S. PPI data exceeded expectations, impacting risk asset sentiment. The Washington D.C. Anti-Fraud Center seizure team has frozen and recovered cryptocurrency assets totaling $580 million. Morgan Stanley is doubling down on crypto investments and has applied for a banking license to custody digital assets and offer staking services.

Macro Events & Crypto Hotspots

1. According to U.S. District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the Anti-Fraud Center seizure team has frozen and recovered over $580 million in cryptocurrency from Southeast Asian criminal networks. Authorities announced on Thursday that they have made “significant progress” in freezing, seizing, and confiscating crypto linked to scam networks operating in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. She stated that crypto confiscation is “a key part of the Anti-Fraud Center’s efforts,” adding, “Through legal procedures, my office will seek to confiscate these funds and return them to victims as much as possible.”

2. According to Bloomberg on Friday, Morgan Stanley has applied for a new national trust bank license, enabling it to custody digital assets. The financial giant plans to use this new license to provide staking and trading services for its investment clients. The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) website shows that Morgan Stanley Digital Trust filed a new national bank charter application on February 18, but no further details are publicly available. This marks a significant shift in Morgan Stanley’s stance toward cryptocurrencies. Over recent months, the bank has moved from a cautious approach to a more active embrace of digital assets—aligning with the broader trend among traditional financial institutions.

3. U.S. data shows that January PPI increased by 0.5% month-over-month, higher than the expected 0.3%. More notably, core PPI (excluding food and energy) rose by 0.8%, well above the forecast of 0.3%. This has heightened market concerns about persistent inflation and increased uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s future policy path.

News Highlights

1. SpaceX is reportedly planning to submit a secret IPO application as early as March, with an estimated valuation exceeding $1.75 trillion.

2. The issuer of the Japanese stablecoin JPYC completed a $12 million Series B funding round, led by Asteria.

3. Karpelès proposes a Bitcoin hard fork to recover nearly 80,000 BTC stolen from Mt. Gox in 2011.

4. OpenAI executives: ChatGPT’s daily active users have surpassed 900 million, with paid subscribers reaching 50 million.

5. Progmat is relocating Japan’s largest security token platform to Avalanche Layer 1.

6. Morgan Stanley has applied for a U.S. nationwide trust bank license to expand into crypto custody and staking services.

7. Trump orders: All federal agencies must immediately cease using Anthropic.

8. Paradigm plans to raise up to $1.5 billion for a new fund, expanding into AI and robotics sectors.

9. Citibank plans to launch institutional-grade Bitcoin custody services later this year.

10. Vitalik Buterin posts outlining short-term and long-term plans for Ethereum scalability.

Market Trends

1. Latest Bitcoin news: BTC continues to weaken, currently around $65,850. Over the past 24 hours, $96.72 million in liquidation, mainly long positions.

2. Due to deepening concerns over AI prospects and rising U.S. inflation indicators, U.S. stocks closed lower on February 27. The Dow Jones Industrial fell 521.28 points, or 1.05%, to 48,977.92. The S&P 500 declined 29.98 points, or 0.43%, to 6,878.88. The Nasdaq dropped 210.17 points, or 0.92%, to 22,668.21. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 98.889 points, or 1.21%, to 8,098.371.

(Source: Gate)

3. According to Gate’s BTC/USDT liquidation map, with the current price at $65,968.10, if the price drops to around $64,840, total long liquidations exceed $155 million; if it rises to about $66,736, total short liquidations exceed $311 million. Short liquidations are significantly higher than longs, so traders should control leverage wisely to avoid large-scale liquidations during market swings.

(Source: Coinglass)

4. In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin spot inflow was $2.68 billion, outflow $2.94 billion, net outflow $260 million.

(Source: Coinglass)

5. In the past 24 hours, net outflows led in contracts trading for $XAG, $PIPPIN, $PAXG, $XAUT, $XAU, indicating trading opportunities.

Selected Opinions from X KOLs

Phyrex Ni (@Phyrex_Ni): “Although both U.S. stocks and BTC fell over the weekend, the market isn’t hard to analyze. As I’ve been saying these days, market sentiment can be driven by earnings reports, but liquidity won’t improve because of earnings. The ongoing trend of institutional selling and overall market liquidation over the past four days is evidence of the current situation. The core narrative remains a lack of liquidity and insufficient capital to act.”

“The PPI data today isn’t great—though lower than previous, it’s above expectations. Monthly increase exceeds previous and forecasted figures, and core PPI’s annual and monthly rates are also higher than prior and expected. Persistent inflation over two months suggests challenges ahead, which worries investors. Rising PPI likely means PCE will also rise, not good news for U.S. monetary policy. But long-term, I’m not too worried. On one hand, the U.S. tariffs suppressing the Fed’s rate cuts have already had results; once tariffs are gone, inflation is more likely to decline. On the other hand, as June approaches, Fed Chair Powell remains a key card for Trump. There’s a real chance of easing in late 2026 to boost the mid-term elections.”

“Looking at Bitcoin data, it’s another day of declining volume and turnover—nothing much to say. Investor buying sentiment has already moved away from earnings reports, with prices bouncing back and falling again—this is liquidity shortage. Every rally might be driven by institutional and hedge fund exits. Today is the last working day; weak PPI data will influence weekend sentiment, and liquidity over the weekend is usually poor. Hopefully, no major surprises happen. If a black swan appears, it might be a good buying opportunity.”

Today’s Outlook

1. Berkshire Hathaway earnings report