Crypto World
Bitcoin Drops for Fifth Straight Month as Banks Integrate Crypto
Editor’s note: Bitcoin closed February with a 15% drop, marking five consecutive monthly losses. The report also highlights a shift as major banks move to integrate crypto into traditional finance, signaling a convergence of fintech and lending rails. With geopolitical tensions and upcoming US data ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next meeting, crypto markets remain sensitive to macro signals. This editor’s note sets the scene for the figures that follow and what they may mean for price momentum and policy-driven risk in early 2026.
“Bitcoin has started March on the backfoot amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have triggered a broader flight from risk assets. This week’s US economic data — including ISM manufacturing and services PMI, ADP employment figures, and non-farm payrolls — will be closely watched ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next meeting. While markets are currently pricing in a hold on rates, softer data could increase expectations of a cut, potentially providing much-needed support to cryptoasset prices.”
Key points
- Bitcoin fell 15% in February, extending five consecutive monthly losses.
- If March finishes lower, it would mark six consecutive monthly declines.
- Institutional adoption accelerates: Citibank plans to integrate bitcoin into core banking and custody; Barclays explores stablecoin payments and tokenised deposits.
- Markets await US data (ISM, PMI, ADP, payrolls) and the Fed decision, which could influence crypto prices.
Why this matters
These numbers and moves matter because they illustrate a shift where crypto assets are increasingly considered alongside traditional finance. The data underscores how macro factors and policy expectations can drive crypto sentiment, while bank-led crypto integration signals a broader use case beyond speculation. If banks expand custody, settlement, and compliance workflows for digital assets, market dynamics and liquidity could evolve even as Bitcoin remains volatile.
What to watch next
- March performance and whether Bitcoin ends the month with a sixth straight decline.
- Upcoming US data releases and the Fed meeting shaping risk assets.
- Progress on Citi and Barclays crypto initiatives with potential launches later this year.
Disclosure: The content below is a press release provided by the company/PR representative. It is published for informational purposes.
Bitcoin Records Five Consecutive Monthly Losses as Major Banks Move to Integrate Crypto into Traditional Finance
Abu Dhabi, UAE – 2 March 2026: Bitcoin ended February down 15%, marking five consecutive months of losses and a 48% decline from its all-time high of $126,500 in October 2025.
For the first time in its history, both January and February have closed in negative territory in the same year. Should March also finish lower, it would mark six consecutive monthly declines — only the second such occurrence on record.
Simon Peters, Crypto Analyst at eToro, commented:
“Bitcoin has started March on the backfoot amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have triggered a broader flight from risk assets. This week’s US economic data — including ISM manufacturing and services PMI, ADP employment figures, and non-farm payrolls — will be closely watched ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next meeting. While markets are currently pricing in a hold on rates, softer data could increase expectations of a cut, potentially providing much-needed support to cryptoasset prices.”
Biggest Movers
NEAR rose 17% last week, climbing from $1.009 to $1.184 following NEARCON 2026 in San Francisco. Key announcements included the Near.com Super-App, enabling account management across more than 35 blockchains without manual bridging, and “Confidential Intents,” a privacy execution layer designed to shield cross-chain transaction details.
Polkadot (DOT) also gained 17% in anticipation of a major supply reduction on 14 March, which will cut annual token issuance by more than 50% — from approximately 120 million tokens to 55 million.
Institutional Adoption Accelerates
Citibank announced plans to integrate bitcoin into its core banking systems, aiming to make the asset “bankable.” The proposed services include institutional-grade custody of bitcoin, key management and wallet services, and the extension of traditional tax, reporting and compliance workflows to digital assets. The service is expected to launch later this year.
In the UK, Barclays is reportedly exploring the development of a blockchain platform for stablecoin payments and tokenised deposits. Earlier this year, Barclays acquired a stake in Ubyx, a US-based clearing system for digital money, marking its first direct investment in stablecoin infrastructure.
These developments highlight the continued convergence between traditional finance and the digital asset ecosystem.
About eToro
eToro is the trading and investing platform that empowers you to invest, share and learn. Founded in 2007 with the vision of a world where everyone can trade and invest in a simple and transparent way, today eToro has 40 million registered users from 75 countries.
eToro believes in the power of shared knowledge and that investors can become more successful by investing together. The platform has built a collaborative investment community designed to provide users with the tools they need to grow their knowledge and wealth. On eToro, users can hold a range of traditional and innovative assets and choose how they invest: trade directly, invest in a portfolio, or copy other investors.
Visit eToro’s media centre for the latest news.
Iran’s top crypto exchange saw a significant spike in crypto withdrawals within minutes of the US and Israel launching strikes in Tehran on Saturday. However, a widespread internet outage curbed additional outflows.
In a post on Monday, Elliptic said crypto outflows from the Nobitex exchange surged by more than 700% to over $500,000 within minutes of the first airstrikes, with a chart showing that outflows reached nearly $3 million in a single hour later that day.
Elliptic said the sharp rise in outflows “potentially represents capital flight from Iran,” with its initial tracing showing that many of those funds were sent to foreign crypto exchanges.
“This allows funds to be moved out of Iran while avoiding some of the scrutiny of the global banking system,” Elliptic said.
However, crypto outflows from Nobitex fell sharply after Saturday, which fellow crypto forensics platform TRM Labs attributed to the Iranian regime enforcing strict internet blackouts.
Iran’s internet connectivity reportedly fell by approximately 99% shortly after the conflict unfolded, TRM noted.
TRM also opposed Elliptic’s conclusion that capital flight is leaving Iran, stating:
“It appears that the country’s crypto ecosystem is not showing signs of acceleration or capital flight, but instead experiencing a downturn in both transactions and volume as the regime enforces strict internet blackouts.”
The crypto outflows come as the US and Israel seek to topple the current Iranian regime and wipe out its nuclear and missile programs. Iran responded with airstrikes of its own on neighboring countries, creating further instability in the region.
Nobitex is Iran’s largest crypto exchange, handling roughly 87% of the country’s crypto transaction volume. In 2025, it processed about $7.2 billion in trades for more than 11 million users.
Millions of Iranians impacted by recent banking collapse
Iranians continue to rely on crypto to store and move funds as a solution to navigate Iran’s fragile banking system and the widespread sanctions imposed on the country.
Related: Will Bitcoin crash if oil prices hit $100 per barrel?
In October, one of Iran’s largest private banks, Ayandeh Bank, went bankrupt after accumulating $5.1 billion in losses and nearly $3 billion in debt, impacting more than 42 million customers.
Iran’s central bank warned last year that eight other local banks were at risk of dissolution unless they implement reforms.
Iranian crypto exchanges haven’t been without problems either, as Nobitex suffered an $81 million hack in June.
Magazine: South Korea gets rich from crypto… North Korea gets weapons
BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) just doubled down on Ethereum, fueling bullish price predictions.
The publicly traded treasury added 50,928 ETH last week, spending about $103 million. The move sparked a 9% jump in BMNR shares and lined up with a strong bounce in Ethereum’s spot price.
With this buy, BitMine now holds 4,473,587 ETH, roughly 3.71% of the total circulating supply. That is not passive exposure. It is an aggressive accumulation strategy, even with market conditions still shaky.
- BitMine added 50,928 ETH to its balance sheet, raising total holdings to roughly $9 billion.
- BMNR shares surged over 9% following the disclosure, outperforming broader market indices.
- The firm is now staking over 3 million ETH, projecting estimated annualized revenues of up to $172 million.
BitMine Pursues ‘Alchemy of 5%’ Despite Paper Losses
BitMine’s latest buy is part of a bigger mission. The company wants control of 5% of Ethereum’s total supply, which Chairman Tom Lee calls the “alchemy of 5%.”
Lee framed the recent dip as an opportunity, arguing that ETH fundamentals are stronger than price suggests. Even with roughly $7.7 billion in unrealized losses on paper, leadership is not backing off. They see Ethereum as core financial infrastructure, not just a speculative asset.
The difference is strategy. BitMine is not just holding ETH. It is staking aggressively. The firm claims to have staked more ETH than any other entity and expects an annual yield of more than $253 million once its Made in America Validator Network goes fully live in 2026.
That active yield model separates it from passive treasury plays. It turns ETH into a productive balance sheet asset rather than idle reserves.
This push mirrors broader institutional moves into crypto infrastructure. While retail remains cautious, corporate players are building quietly.
For traders, $2,100 is the key level. If Ethereum reclaims it and BitMine keeps buying weekly, that steady demand could act as a structural floor heading into the next cycle.
BMNR Shares Break Out as ETH Holds $2,000
The market reacted fast.
BitMine shares (NYSE: BMNR) jumped more than 9% after the disclosure, as investors leaned into the company’s heavier exposure to a potential Ethereum rebound. At the same time, ETH bounced to around $2,037, trying to stabilize after a roughly 22% monthly slide.
Traders read the treasury purchase as a high-conviction signal. Volume picked up across both the stock and ETH, tightening the correlation between BMNR and spot prices.
At this point, BMNR is effectively trading as a leveraged proxy for Ethereum. When ETH moves, the stock is likely to amplify that move in either direction.
Discover: The best new crypto in the world
The post Ethereum Price and BitMine Shares Jump 10% After Latest Treasury Buy appeared first on Cryptonews.
News feeds may be rocked by war news, but markets are weathering it; ChatGPT even predicts a strong year ahead for XRP, SOL and SHIB HODLers.
It seems the market already priced in war news during the downturns following Trump’s previous threats of US military escalation on Greenland and Iran earlier in the year.
Given all the uncertainties, however, just how likely are ChatGPT’s forecasts?
XRP ($XRP): ChatGPT Predicts a Clean 7x Surge by Christmas
In a recent update, Ripple reiterated that XRP ($XRP) remains fundamental to its vision to transform the XRP Ledger (XRPL) into a global, enterprise-grade payments network.
Powered by elite infrastructure, instant settlement and minimal fees, XRPL is likely to capitalise greatly on two of crypto’s fastest-expanding niches: stablecoins and tokenised real-world assets.
With XRP currently trading around $1.41, ChatGPT projects a potential rally toward $10 in 2026, a move that would represent 7x for current holders.
Technical indicators also support upward movement. XRP’s relative strength index (RSI) hovers near 44, while price action has stabilised around the 30-day moving average, hinting the prolonged consolidation phase may be over
Additional bullish catalysts could include growing institutional participation following the rollout of U.S.-listed XRP ETFs, Ripple’s expanding global partnership network, and improved regulatory clarity if the CLARITY bill passes in the U.S. this year.
Solana (SOL): Will Solana Double ATH Soon?
Solana ($SOL) hosts $6.5 billion in total value locked (TVL) and carries a market capitalisation of $51 billion.
Institutional demand grew after the recent launch of Solana exchange-traded funds from major asset managers, including Bitwise and Grayscale.
Even so, SOL suffered a deep correction in late 2025 and spent much of February trading below the $100 level.
Under ChatGPT’s most optimistic scenario, Solana could climb from its current price near $89 to roughly $600 by Christmas. Such a move would deliver close 7x upside and double Solana’s all-time high (ATH) of $293, recorded in January 2025.
Further reinforcing Solana’s outlook, asset management giants such as Franklin Templeton and BlackRock are actively issuing tokenised assets on the network, underscoring the network’s headstart as a scalable, institution-friendly blockchain.
Shiba Inu (SHIB): ChatGPT AI Predicts a Possible 2,000% Rally
Launched in 2020 as a playful parody of Dogecoin, Shiba Inu ($SHIB) has since evolved into a multi-faceted ecosystem with a market capitalisation around $3.4 billion.
At its current price near $0.0000057, ChatGPT’s analysis indicates that a decisive breakout above the $0.000025–$0.00003 resistance zone could ignite strong bullish momentum, potentially driving SHIB toward $0.00012 before year-end.
That scenario would imply eye watering gains of around 21x (+2,000%), placing SHIB above its October 2021 ATH of $0.00008616.
Beyond meme coin hype, the project offers real utility. Shiba Inu’s Ethereum Layer-2 solution, Shibarium, offers faster transactions, lower fees, enhanced privacy and a more developer-friendly environment.
Maxi Doge: Early-Stage Meme Coin Targets Explosive Growth
According to ChatGPT, Shiba Inu’s likelihood of a 21x run indicates strong conviction that a bull market could usher the start of meme season. However, newer stage meme coins offer more room for growth
One such buzzy new project is Maxi Doge ($MAXI). It has already raised $4.7 million during its ongoing presale, as early investors stack what some are calling the next Dogecoin.
Maxi Doge is Dogecoin’s louder, more aggressive gym-bro cousin, driven by envy and fuelled by a viral degen marketing strategy that taps into the chaotic energy of the 2021 meme coin cycle.
MAXI is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum’s proof-of-stake network, offering a significantly lower environmental footprint compared to Dogecoin’s proof-of-work architecture.
Early presale buyers can currently stake MAXI for yields of up to 67% APY, with rewards gradually decreasing as the staking pool expands.
The token is $0.0002806 in the current presale stage, with automatic price increases programmed at each funding milestone. Purchases are supported via wallets such as MetaMask and Best Wallet.
Stay updated through Maxi Doge’s official X and Telegram pages.
Visit the Official Website Here.
The post New ChatGPT Predicts the Price of XRP, Solana and Shiba Inu By the End of 2026 appeared first on Cryptonews.
Bitcoin, and eventually broader crypto, was steered away from being a decentralized alternative to the state and toward integration into the very financial system it was meant to replace.
In an interview, Aaron Day, co-founder of Daylight Freedom, a foundation dedicated to financial sovereignty and individual liberty, reached this conclusion based on his personal experiences with Bitcoin.
Questioning Bitcoin’s Original Mission
Nowadays, Bitcoin is best known for its non-sovereign, censorship-resistant characteristics. For several years now, the crypto community has touted the asset as akin to gold, albeit digital.
Day, an outspoken critic of cryptocurrencies and a libertarian thinker, once thought this too.
That’s why he started using Bitcoin as early as 2012. However, he soon started to realize that its narrative was in a constant state of transformation– one that parted ways with its self-proclaimed decentralized nature.
His persistent remarks on social media and sharp criticisms of some of the industry’s most powerful companies have inevitably made some paint him as a conspiracy theorist.
However, his long trajectory as a crypto user in the space, paired with the research he conducts as a fellow at the Brownstone Institute, provides a perspective that’s hard to dismiss, especially amid Bitcoin’s broader mainstream adoption.
New Hampshire as a Bitcoin Testing Ground
When Day, a New Hampshire resident, started using Bitcoin 15 years ago, many restaurants and shops accepted it directly. It already functioned as a spendable digital currency.
In many ways, the state was a breeding ground for this type of activity.
Known as the “Live Free or Die” region, New Hampshire also became the home of the Free State Project, a nonprofit political migration movement founded in 2001 that successfully relocated roughly 20,000 free thinkers to the area, aiming to concentrate them in a low-population state.
Day was the Chairman of that project, and by virtue of his beliefs, he became attracted to Bitcoin’s potential.
“Back [in 2012], mostly conferences were about how Bitcoin was going to be used as an alternative to central banks, how it was going to be something that solved the problem of the 2008 financial crisis, [and] how it was going to be a tool that didn’t require intermediaries or third parties. This is how I got introduced to it,” Day told BeInCrypto during a podcast episode.
However, despite its early adoption in his city, the narrative began to shift by 2017. According to him, it soon became unusable.
“All of a sudden, the fees went through the roof. We went from transactions being finalized in seconds to days. It lost its fundamental utility, which is to be something that anyone anywhere in the world could engage in voluntary transactions without third parties,” he added.
Though that was Day’s original frustration with the currency, it soon only represented the tip of the iceberg.
A Narrative Shift From Cash to Store of Value
When Day started using Bitcoin, it was seen as just another form of currency for everyday transactions with decentralized advantages. It was never perceived as anything else.
“People weren’t talking about primarily as being digital gold. It’s something you just hold and save and don’t spend. It’s not in the title of the whitepaper, this is not the behavior and function of Bitcoin,” he explained.
These changes coincided with the rise of Layer 2 solutions in crypto. These secondary protocols, built on top of the primary blockchain, are designed to significantly increase transaction speeds and reduce fees. Protocols like Segregated Witness (SegWit) and Lightning Network became particularly popular at the time.
While many developers argued these upgrades were necessary technical trade-offs, Day interpreted them differently.
In his view, the technical debate around scaling was inseparable from a broader structural shift happening behind the scenes — one related to who was funding Bitcoin’s development.
From Non-Profit Backing to Institutional Influence
In 2012, the Bitcoin Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established in the United States to promote Bitcoin use and protect the integrity of the project. It also supported Bitcoin’s earliest core developers.
Three years later, however, the organization collapsed amid internal turmoil and financial difficulties.
Shortly afterward, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, through its Digital Currency Initiative —directed by Jeffrey Epstein-linked Joi Ito— began funding several Bitcoin core developers.
To many in the ecosystem, this was a practical solution. Bitcoin was an open-source protocol without a formal corporate sponsor. Developers needed funding to continue their work.
But for Day, the timing raised questions.
“MIT took over, and then some of the same developers that were working on things like SegWit and Lightning Network, essentially hobbling Bitcoin as peer-to-peer cash and moving to this Bitcoin is digital gold narrative.”
As Bitcoin’s scalability issues became more apparent and the network’s future development was increasingly steered by well-funded institutional interests, the project’s decentralized nature began to erode.
Fast forward to today, and Bitcoin has become extensively integrated in infrastructure directly tied to traditional, centralized banking. Exchange-traded funds tied to the asset, institutional custody, and nation-state reserves have since entered the conversation.
Day questioned whether this trajectory was inevitable or the result of structural forces that redirected Bitcoin’s original mission.
“I think at the end of this, the longer it goes on, the more it’s pretty clear that all of crypto has been hijacked,” he concluded.
Further decline or a revival: what’s next for the self-proclaimed Dogecoin killer?
The situation for the second-largest meme coin has worsened recently, following a double-digit slide over the past 14 days.
Some worrying factors suggest Shiba Inu (SHIB) could experience a further collapse in the near future, while one popular analyst predicted it might crash to a five-year low.
The Free Fall is Yet to Happen?
While Shiba Inu enjoyed some notable surges last year, 2026 has been nothing but painful. As of this writing, it trades at around $0.000005467 (per CoinGecko’s data), representing a whopping 60% plunge on a yearly scale.
Its market cap has tumbled to roughly $3.2 billion, further widening the gap with niche frontrunner Dogecoin (DOGE), which maintains a capitalization of more than $15 billion.
According to Ali Martinez, SHIB might be on the verge of a crash to as low as $0.00000138. This is not the first time the analyst has warned about such a scenario. Last month, he noted that the meme coin dropped below the important level of $0.00000667, claiming this could have opened the door to a meltdown to the aforementioned zone.
Shiba Inu’s burning mechanism also signals that a further pullback may be on the way. Over the past 24 hours, the burn rate has decreased by approximately 99% after only 20,176 SHIB were sent to a null address.
The program’s ultimate goal is to reduce the meme coin’s overall supply, potentially making it more valuable in time (assuming demand remains constant or heads north). It was adopted in 2022, and since then, the team and community have destroyed more than 410.7 trillion tokens, leaving 585.47 trillion in circulation.
You may also like:
The stalled progress of Shibarium is also a bearish factor. Shiba Inu’s layer-2 scaling solution saw the light of day in the summer of 2023 and aims to foster the project’s development by lowering transaction fees, improving speed, and enhancing scalability. It suffered an exploit in September last year, which shook investor trust and caused widespread damage across the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Prior to the incident, daily transactions processed on Shibarium were in the millions, while after that, they plummeted to mere thousands.
The Bullish Signals
Even as the meme coin struggles and the broader crypto market is under pressure, SHIB’s supply on centralized exchanges keeps shrinking. According to CryptoQuant’s data, those reserves fell below 81 trillion tokens, the lowest point since May 2021.
The development could be interpreted as a positive sign because it suggests that investors are in no rush to move their holdings to such platforms: a move often seen as a pre-sale step.
Meanwhile, Shiba Inu’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) briefly plunged below 30, indicating the asset has entered oversold territory and could be due for a resurgence. The technical analysis tool runs from 0 to 100, and conversely, ratios above 70 suggest SHIB could be overbought and gearing up for a possible correction. As of this writing, the RSI stands at roughly 36, or much closer to the bullish zone.
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).
LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!
TLDR
- South Korea launched a nationwide audit to strengthen controls over seized crypto assets.
- The Finance Ministry and financial regulators reviewed storage methods and internal access procedures.
- Officials aimed to identify weak practices and introduce stronger technical safeguards.
- Police in Gangnam lost 22 BTC after giving custody to an external firm without private key control.
- The National Tax Service apologized after exposing recovery phrases that led to a major theft.
South Korea moved fast to reinforce digital asset controls as officials addressed recent security failures, and the government ordered urgent checks across agencies, and leaders demanded strict oversight to prevent further losses.
Audit of Seized Crypto Holdings
South Korea launched a nationwide audit after new directives reshaped digital asset management practices. Authorities examined seized coins across agencies and reviewed storage controls. The Finance Ministry coordinated the process with the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service. Officials targeted holdings gained through tax and criminal cases.
Officials reviewed hardware wallets and custodial accounts and assessed access controls. They said the audit aimed to expose weak procedures and guide new protections. Leaders stated that agencies must “fix system gaps fast” to stop unauthorized transfers. They also confirmed that operational reports will go directly to senior oversight teams.
Police losses in Gangnam triggered stronger demands for new custody rules. Investigators confirmed that officers lost 22 BTC after handing assets to an outside firm. Officials said the officers never controlled private keys, which raised concerns about current arrangements. Regulators asked agencies to track crypto flows better.
A separate error at the National Tax Service pushed the government to act. The agency disclosed recovery phrases in a public release. Thieves drained most of a $5.6 million holding, and leaders called the failure preventable. The agency apologized and began internal checks.
Legal and Structural Shifts in South Korea
The Supreme Court of Korea ruled in January that exchange-held Bitcoin qualifies as property. This decision cleared earlier confusion over enforcement powers. Officials said the ruling eased asset seizure procedures. They added that agencies can pursue digital holdings more quickly under clear rules.
The government continued updating its Digital Asset Basic Act. Phase two will impose rules for stablecoin reserves and investor protection. Officials said the updates will strengthen oversight for market players. They also confirmed that agencies will publish final provisions soon.
Regulators ended a nine-year block on corporate crypto trading in February. They allowed listed firms and professional traders to reenter markets. Authorities said new compliance rules will govern trading activities. They will also monitor corporate flows under updated reporting systems.
Key Takeaways
- Tom Lee sees March rebound for crypto and US stocks
- Bitcoin trades at $66K despite Middle East tension
- Ethereum holds near $1,950 as BitMine keeps buying
- Oil jumps 13% while US futures slip lower
- Lee links gold strength to broader market shift
Bitcoin trades at $66,000 after rebounding from weekend lows near $63,000. The asset has gained over 5% from its recent dip. Tom Lee expects a broader market recovery in March despite geopolitical pressure.
He shared his outlook during a recent CNBC interview. Lee stated that March could mark a turnaround month for risk assets. He added that economic growth remains intact despite current fears.
Tensions in the Middle East triggered sharp weekend volatility. Military strikes targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader sparked retaliatory action. Consequently, markets reacted with swift liquidations and price swings.
Data shows that long liquidations reached nearly $300 million. However, the broader market absorbed the shock without extended panic. Therefore, Bitcoin stabilized quickly above key support levels.
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped 13% to $82 per barrel. This level marks the highest price since July 2024. Rising energy costs added pressure to global equity markets.
US equity index futures declined following the developments. The S&P 500 futures fell 1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.5%. Even so, Lee believes the worst selling could occur this week.
The crypto market is going up today, March 2, even as the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East escalated.
Summary
- The crypto market remained stable on Monday even as the war in Iran started.
- This rally happened as the economic impact of the crisis remained limited.
- The crypto recovery could be a dead-cat bounce, a situation where a falling asset rebounds temporarily.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose to nearly $70,000, while Ethereum (ETH) jumped to $2,065. Other top gainers were coins like Near Protocol, Morpho, Virtuals Protocol, Jupiter, and Pudgy Penguins. The market capitalization of all coins jumped to over $2.38 trillion.
The crypto market rose as the economic impact of the ongoing war in the Middle East remained muted. For example, the Dow Jones Index retreated by just 140 points, while the Nasdaq 100 erased earlier losses and turned positive for the day.
Crude oil price gains were also lower than expected, with Brent settling at $78 and the West Texas Intermediate rising to $73. The two benchmarks were expected to rise to over $100 as the war started.
A likely reason for the crypto market rally is the inverse of buying the rumors and selling the news. In this case, investors dumped Bitcoin and other coins ahead of the war, and are now buying the news.
At the same time, the crypto market is going up as traders predict that the United States, Iran, and Israel will reach a ceasefire in the near term. Odds of a ceasefire happening by March 31st rose to 46%. Similarly, the odds of it happening by April 30 rose to 66%.
The crypto market is going up after the relatively strong US macro data. According to S&P Global, the manufacturing PMI rose from 50.4 in January to 51 in February. Another report by ISM showed that the manufacturing PMI rose from 51.7 to 52.4 in the same period.
Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s Strategy and Tom Lee’s BitMine continued accumulating Bitcoin and Ethereum last week. BitMine accumulated over 50k ETH, while Strategy bought over 3,000 Bitcoin. These purchases have continued even as these companies have experienced billions in losses.
Still, there is also a likelihood that the ongoing crypto market rally is a dead-cat bounce. A DCB is a situation where a falling asset rebounds briefly and then resumes the downtrend.
Key takeaways:
-
Bitcoin futures demand has hit its lowest level since 2024, signaling that many institutional traders are staying cautious.
-
Despite lower confidence from bulls, high CME open interest suggests that major institutions have not left the market.
Bitcoin (BTC) price has gained 10% since retesting $63,000 on Saturday, providing a glimpse of hope for bulls as stock markets moved in a different direction amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. However, demand for Bitcoin futures has been declining, with open interest reaching its lowest levels since 2024. This trend is causing traders to fear that institutional investors are leaving the market.
The Bitcoin futures aggregate open interest on major exchanges declined to $32 billion on Sunday, down 20% from one month prior. Even if measured in Bitcoin terms to adjust for the recent price decline, the current demand for BTC futures stood at the lowest level since August 2024 at 491,300 BTC. Part of this decline can be explained by the forced liquidations of bulls who were caught by surprise.
The demand for leveraged bullish positions has been largely absent since the $126,200 all-time high in October 2025.
The annualized premium (basis rate) on Bitcoin monthly futures contracts dropped to its lowest level in a year at 2%. Under neutral conditions, the metric should range from 5% to 10% to compensate for the longer settlement period. Even more concerning is the fact that the basis rate has failed to sustain bullish levels for the past 12 months, a period that happens to include a 50% rally April to May 2025.
Bitcoin’s underperformance relative to gold and the stock market has likely shifted investors’ attention away from the cryptocurrency market. Still, it would be far-fetched to claim that institutional investors have exited the market, given that spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) trade over $3 billion per day on average. Among the ETF holders are some of the world’s largest mutual and pension fund managers.
Moreover, there are over $79 billion in Bitcoin held onchain by publicly listed companies, including Strategy (MSTR US), MARA Holdings (MARA US), XXI (XXI US) and Metaplanet (MPLTF US). Countries such as Bhutan, El Salvador and the United Arab Emirates have also added Bitcoin exposure. One could argue that there is still a long way to go in terms of institutional adoption, but the present situation is very far from zero.
Bitcoin derivatives signal resilience as bulls hesitate
The Bitcoin options market confirms that derivatives continue to function as expected despite repeated failures to reclaim the $72,000 level.
The Bitcoin put-to-call options premium stayed near 0.7 on Monday. This shows that demand for put (sell) options is lower than for call (buy) options. A brief jump in demand for bearish strategies on Friday did not last. Essentially, the options market shows no signs of major trouble or lasting stress from the past few months.
Related: Bitcoin holders show ‘zero panic’ as BTC hits $70K amid Middle East tensions
Derivatives data also shows a lack of confidence among bulls, especially since Bitcoin is trading 45% below its all-time high. However, there is no evidence that institutional players have left the market. The $7.5 billion in Bitcoin futures open interest on the CME is a clear sign of institutional activity. Despite the selling pressure, every short (sell) order must be matched by a long (buy) order, which keeps the market balanced.
Eventually, fear and uncertainty fade as more buyers return, marking the end of a downward trend. While it is unclear if $60,000 was the absolute bottom for this market cycle, Bitcoin has again shown it is a secure asset with a fixed supply. The $1.4 trillion cryptocurrency market has proven its strength and shows no signs of failing.
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. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
Participating token holders voted nearly unanimously to pass the Aptos Foundation’s proposal to shift toward deflationary tokenomics, which is now awaiting execution.
The Aptos community passed a proposal to introduced deflationary tokenomics in a vote that ended on March 1. The now approved change sets a hard cap on the total supply of APT tokens at 2.1 billion, aligning with a broader shift towards performance-driven tokenomics, as The Defiant previously reported.
The proposal aims to enhance the deflationary nature of the APT token and received substantial backing, with 335.2 million APT voting in favor and only 1,500 APT opposing it, according to the Aptos Governance page for the proposal. However, only 39% of voting power participated, just above the 35% that the community requires for the vote to proceed. The proposal is now awaiting execution, per the blockchain’s governance website.
This initiative reflects a strategic pivot by the Aptos Foundation, which focuses on developing the Aptos blockchain, a Layer 1 network optimized for both scalability and security. Prior to this vote, the maximum APT token supply was infinite, but the change seeks to limit future inflation and reward long-term stakeholders by reducing staking rewards and increasing gas fees.
This proposal also includes using transaction fees for token buybacks, evidently also in an attempt to increase value for token holders.
The Aptos Foundation’s decision comes at a time when the APT token has been hitting new lows, most recently on Feb. 23, when it reached $0.79, per CoinGecko data. The token is down over 85% on the year, though it got some relief in recent weeks, up 17% over the past seven days. APT is trading around $0.96 at press time, up about 3.5% in the past 24 hours as the broader crypto market rallies.
This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.
How to make Rory McIlroy’s low bullet drive your own go-to shot
BITCOIN & CRYPTO REPEATING HISTORY (Signal Confirmed)!!! – Bitcoin News Today, Ethereum & Altcoins
Sewing Bee winner Annie Phillips’ guide to upcycling clothes: from patching to quilting
![EXTREME WARNING: This Has NEVER Happened in Bitcoin History [Until Now]](https://wordupnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/1772497609_maxresdefault-80x80.jpg)
-
Fashion3 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Iris Top
-
Politics4 days agoITV enters Gaza with IDF amid ongoing genocide
-
Business6 days agoTrue Citrus debuts functional drink mix collection
-
Tech2 days agoUnihertz’s Titan 2 Elite Arrives Just as Physical Keyboards Refuse to Fade Away
-
Sports3 days ago
The Vikings Need a Duck
-
Crypto World7 days agoXRP price enters “dead zone” as Binance leverage hits lows
-
NewsBeat2 days agoDubai flights cancelled as Brit told airspace closed ’10 minutes after boarding’
-
NewsBeat5 days agoCuba says its forces have killed four on US-registered speedboat | World News
-
Tech6 days agoUnsurprisingly, Apple's board gets what it wants in 2026 shareholder meeting
-
NewsBeat3 days agoThe empty pub on busy Cambridge road that has been boarded up for years
-
NewsBeat5 days agoManchester Central Mosque issues statement as it imposes new measures ‘with immediate effect’ after armed men enter
-
NewsBeat1 day ago‘Significant’ damage to boarded-up Horden house after fire
-
NewsBeat2 days agoAbusive parents will now be treated like sex offenders and placed on a ‘child cruelty register’ | News UK
-
NewsBeat6 days agoPolice latest as search for missing woman enters day nine
-
Entertainment16 hours agoBaby Gear Guide: Strollers, Car Seats
-
Business5 days agoDiscord Pushes Implementation of Global Age Checks to Second Half of 2026
-
Business4 days agoOnly 4% of women globally reside in countries that offer almost complete legal equality
-
Tech4 days agoNASA Reveals Identity of Astronaut Who Suffered Medical Incident Aboard ISS
-
Crypto World6 days agoEntering new markets without increasing payment costs
-
Politics2 days ago
FIFA hypocrisy after Israel murder over 400 Palestinian footballers