Tigran Gambaryan, a Binance executive who was held in Nigeria for eight months in 2024 facing tax and money laundering charges, provided additional details about his experience and what led to his release.

Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 26, Gambaryan, the head of financial crime compliance at Binance, said the Nigerian government had held him hostage, suggesting the criminal charges were a pretext to “get something” from Binance. According to the Binance executive, he saw signs suggesting he could be released “around a month” before he was returned to the US.

“It was around the time of the [United Nations] General Assembly in 2024 happened is when that pressure really ramped up against the Nigerian government, and it realized that I was more of a liability,” said Gambaryan. “Before that, they kinda saw me as an asset they could use to get their billions out of Binance.”

Tigran Gambaryan speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 26. Source: Rumble

Since his handover to US authorities in October, Gambaryan has made few public statements concerning his detention and release. The Binance executive’s family and reports from Nigeria suggested that his health deteriorated after he was initially placed into custody in February, including cases of pneumonia, malaria, and a herniated disc.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Dogecoin (DOGE) price has rallied 18% over the past three days, and it is currently the best-performing crypto among the top 30 by market capitalization over the past week.

Data also shows DOGE producing its highest weekly returns of 2025, a feat not seen since the final week of 2024.

Dogecoin weekly chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

7% of DOGE supply is clustered around $0.20

According to the onchain data from Glassnode, DOGE’s unrealized price distribution (URPD) shows 7% of the DOGE supply is concentrated at $0.20.

URPD is a metric that reflects the price at which coins were last moved, and it allows investors to identify resistance and support zones based on token clusters.

Dogecoin URPD data by Glassnode. Source: X.com

With a significant concentration at $0.20, Glassnode implied that the price level could potentially act as a resistance level. Although, the analytics firm added,

“If $0.20 is breached, there’s little Dogecoin supply until $0.31 – the next major URPD cluster. This gap raises the probability of a sharp leg higher, as there’s not much resistance in between. Watch for breakout momentum if volume picks up.”

A breakout push toward $0.31 highlights the potential for a substantial 55% surge from its $0.20 level, paving the way for a bullish market structure on the high time frame (HTF) chart.

After $0.20, DOGE’s next resistance level lies between $0.32-$0.41, where the 3 to 6-month HODL waves reside. These HODL waves represent where investors bought DOGE in January. This might also act as a sell ceiling as some traders might look to exit their positions at break even.

Related: Bitcoin price has 75% chance of hitting new highs in 2025 — Analyst

Dogecoin breaks through a difficult bearish trendline

On March 24, House of Doge announced the launch of “The Official Dogecoin Reserve” with an initial purchase of 10 million DOGE tokens. The current rally occurred at the back of this news, creating a positive sentiment in the Dogecoin community.

House of Doge, the newly formed corporate wing of the Dogecoin foundation, stated in a press release,

“With a strategic reserve, House of Doge is laying the foundation for a payments ecosystem that ensures liquidity, stability, and reliability.”

However, the foundation indicated that the purchased tokens have yet to be transferred to its holding account. House of Doge said they would provide the Reserve address on their website to uphold transparency once the transaction is complete.

In light of its price breakout, Trader Tardigrade noted that Dogecoin had breached a three-month descending trendline that formed over the course of 2025.

Dogecoin analysis by Trader Tardigrade. Source: X.com

This could potentially have a short-term bullish implication for DOGE price, as the token looks set for a relief rally over the next few days.

Related: Solana’s ‘early stage bull market’ hints at 65% SOL price gains by April

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Crypto and blockchain-focused venture capital is unfazed by recent market volatility and is using the opportunity to uncover hidden gems in an industry that’s only “one decade into a 30-year paradigm shift,” according to Hoolie Tejwani, the head of VC firm Coinbase Ventures. 

Coinbase Ventures will “continue to invest steadily through market conditions” because it sees the “big picture,” Tejwani told Cointelegraph in an interview.

“What we’re seeing as investors is an exponential technology change curve that is transforming the way people interact, how value flows, and how economies are run. And it’s being shaped by the people who are building on crypto infrastructure,” said Tejwani.

Coinbase Ventures’ portfolio of investments includes Arbitrum, Dune, EigenLayer, Etherscan, OpenSea, Optimism and Uniswap, among others. Its mandate is to invest in project founders who share the namesake crypto exchange’s vision of creating more economic freedom through blockchain and Web3 applications.

The company is especially “bullish on stablecoins,” thanks in part to recent crypto-friendly moves in the US Congress and by President Donald Trump, Tejwani said. 

The Senate Banking Committee forwarding a bill to regulate [stablecoins] “is a huge step for crypto,” he said, referring to the GENIUS Act, which stands for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins.

The GENIUS Act is on its way to the full Senate after clearing the banking committee in an 18-6 vote. Source: Bill Hagerty

Although there was some partisan opposition, California Representative Ro Khanna recently said at least 70 of his fellow Democrats now understand the importance of stablecoins in maintaining the US dollar’s role as a global reserve currency. 

Khanna, like others, expects stablecoin legislation to cross the finish line this year.

The dollar-denominated stablecoin market now exceeds $220 billion, representing roughly 1.1% of the US M2 money supply. Source: RWA.xyz

Related: US stablecoin bill likely in ‘next 2 months’ — Trump’s crypto council head

DeFi, consumer applications remain in focus

In addition to stablecoins, Tejwani identified “next-generation” decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, onchain consumer applications across social, gaming and creator markets, and intersection points between crypto and AI as major investment themes in 2025.

Some of these themes were also identified by Jeffrey Hu, the head of investment research at Hong Kong-based HashKey Capital, although HashKey is placing a bigger emphasis on tokenizing real-world assets and decentralized physical infrastructure networks, also known as DePINs. 

Nevertheless, Tejwani and Hu agree that institutional adoption and real-world use cases represent the major focus areas for venture capital firms. 

“We expect 2025 to be a banner year for crypto startup activity and VC investment, fueled by clearer regulations, institutional adoption, and the continued growth of real-world use cases,” said Tejwani.

Business service providers, DeFi, security services and payments attracted the largest VC capital in February. Source: The TIE

Tejwani’s outlook on 2025 is consistent with recent inflows into crypto-based startups. As Cointelegraph reported, crypto and blockchain projects received a combined $1.1 billion in funding in February alone.

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025