TLDR

• SOL has declined 72% from its record high of $295 and is currently valued at approximately $78
• The token’s spot ETF products have experienced only $11.3M in total outflows, significantly less than Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs that recorded four straight months of withdrawals
• Solana dominated decentralized exchange activity with $108 billion in 30-day volume, surpassing Ethereum’s $63.7 billion
• Technical analysts highlight critical support zones at $50, $22, and $10 derived from Parallel Channel formations
• Military strikes involving Israel and Iran sparked widespread cryptocurrency liquidations, driving Bitcoin near $60,000 and weighing heavily on alternative tokens including SOL

The Solana network’s native token SOL is presently valued at $78, representing a 72% decline from its peak valuation of $295. This downturn coincides with a comprehensive cryptocurrency market correction intensified by escalating geopolitical instability on February 28, 2026.

Saturday morning witnessed Israeli forces conducting military operations against Iranian targets. Intelligence from AP sources confirms American involvement in the coordinated assault. Bitcoin experienced a sharp 5% correction within minutes, approaching the $60,000 threshold, with the resulting market panic cascading into alternative cryptocurrencies like SOL.

While price action reflects bearish sentiment, Solana’s fundamental network metrics demonstrate continued robustness. The blockchain recorded $108 billion in decentralized exchange volume throughout the previous 30-day period, outpacing Ethereum’s $63.7 billion and Base’s $31.48 billion by significant margins.

During the past 24-hour cycle, Solana applications produced $3.1 million in protocol revenue compared to Ethereum’s $2.95 million. The network maintained 2.17 million active wallet addresses, substantially exceeding Ethereum’s 682,236 active participants.

Solana’s real-world asset tokenization ecosystem has achieved a new milestone valuation of $1.71 billion, marking a 45% increase over the past month.

SOL ETF Flows Hold Steady

Exchange-traded fund products for SOL debuted in late October 2025, attracting more than $100 million in average daily net inflows throughout their initial five-week period. Weekly capital inflows have subsequently moderated to the $20–$25 million range as token valuations contracted.

Total accumulated outflows throughout the four-month price correction measure merely $11.3 million across a two-week span. Comparatively, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF products documented four consecutive months of net negative flows during this identical timeframe.

Solana is presently trading substantially beneath the $188 valuation observed during its ETF product introduction.

Key Support Levels to Watch

Market analyst Ali Martinez has identified a Parallel Channel formation developing on SOL’s weekly timeframe chart. This technical pattern suggests potential support zones positioned at $50.22, $22.47, and $9.98.

Analyst Crypto Scient has pinpointed two supplementary areas of interest. The initial zone corresponds to the 0.75 Fibonacci retracement level spanning $60 to $70. The secondary area represents a weekly demand fair value gap situated between $22 and $29.

UTXO analytics from Glassnode indicate that over 6% of circulating SOL supply last transacted within the current valuation range. The subsequent significant supply concentration, exceeding 3%, exists between $20 and $30.

SOL continues trading beneath the weekly resistance threshold of $120. The $51 to $80 range on weekly charts has undergone testing and corresponds with the retracement zone under analyst scrutiny.

As of February 28, 2026, SOL maintained a $78 valuation as cryptocurrency markets absorbed developments from the Israel-Iran military engagement.

Key Takeaways

• Federal authorities ordered a complete halt to Anthropic’s AI technology across all government agencies, citing national security supply-chain concerns.
• Within hours of Anthropic’s dismissal, OpenAI secured a Pentagon agreement to integrate its AI systems into classified military infrastructure.
• The $200 million Pentagon arrangement with Anthropic fell apart when the company declined to permit its technology for autonomous weaponry or widespread domestic monitoring.
• While OpenAI claims its agreement contains identical usage limitations that Anthropic demanded, skeptics wonder if the company will maintain those boundaries.
• Anthropic plans legal action against the supply-chain risk classification, arguing the decision lacks legal foundation.

On Friday, the United States government severed its partnership with Anthropic and classified the AI firm as a supply-chain security threat. Shortly afterward, competing company OpenAI revealed a fresh agreement to integrate its artificial intelligence technology into the Pentagon’s secure networks.

President Donald Trump mandated that all federal departments cease operations with Anthropic’s technology effective immediately. Organizations currently utilizing the company’s Claude AI systems have six months to complete their migration to alternative solutions.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared via X that Anthropic represents a “Supply-Chain Risk to National Security.” This classification typically applies to entities from hostile nations such as China.

The decision carries implications beyond government contracts. Organizations partnering with the Pentagon may face requirements to demonstrate they’ve eliminated Claude from their operations entirely. Major corporations including Nvidia, Amazon, and Google count themselves among Anthropic’s investors and collaborators.

Anthropic had achieved a milestone as the initial AI laboratory to integrate its models within the Pentagon’s secure computing environment. The July agreement carried a potential value reaching $200 million.

Negotiations collapsed when Anthropic declined to ensure its artificial intelligence would remain accessible for all legally permissible military applications. The company established firm boundaries against autonomous weaponry and large-scale domestic monitoring programs.

Pentagon officials indicated Anthropic should rely on military adherence to existing legal frameworks. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated Thursday that his organization “cannot in good conscience” accept such terms.

OpenAI Secures Pentagon Partnership

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed the Pentagon arrangement late Friday through X. He indicated the contract incorporates identical restrictions regarding mass surveillance and autonomous weapons systems that Anthropic had sought.

Altman further stated OpenAI requested the administration extend comparable contract conditions to all artificial intelligence providers. Elon Musk’s xAI had previously received military authorization for deployment in classified environments.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his spouse contributed $25 million to a Trump-aligned political action committee during the previous year. They continue financial support for Trump’s artificial intelligence initiatives in forthcoming electoral contests.

Anthropic Prepares Legal Response

Anthropic expressed being “deeply saddened” by the classification and intends to pursue judicial remedies. The organization characterized the determination as “legally unsound” and warned it establishes a troubling precedent for American technology companies engaging in government negotiations.

The General Services Administration announced Anthropic’s removal from its catalog of approved products available to government entities.

Certain observers expressed criticism toward OpenAI’s actions. Democratic figure Christopher Hale announced on X his cancellation of ChatGPT membership in favor of switching to Claude Pro Max.

Anthropic emerged in 2021 when researchers departed OpenAI due to apprehensions about diminishing safety priorities. Both organizations have secured funding in the tens of billions recently and are evaluating potential public stock offerings.

The controversy also referenced a particular event. Following Claude’s deployment during a Venezuela operation in January, an Anthropic staff member contacted a Palantir associate seeking clarification on the technology’s application. Pentagon leadership interpreted this communication as inappropriate interference.

Anthropic maintained the conversation represented standard technical coordination between collaborative partners.

TLDR

• BTC plummeted almost 5% toward $63,000 following coordinated US-Israeli military operations against Iranian targets
• The cryptocurrency reached its weakest level since the February 5 market crash when BTC momentarily fell under $60,000
• Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz announced a nationwide state of emergency throughout the country
• BTC’s continuous trading schedule positions it as an immediate outlet for risk aversion when traditional markets remain closed
• Market participants dumped bitcoin as it represented one of the only major liquid assets accessible during weekend hours

The world’s leading cryptocurrency experienced a dramatic decline on Saturday, February 28, 2026, plunging toward $63,000 following military strikes executed by the United States and Israel against Iran.

The digital asset shed nearly 5% of its value within mere minutes, representing a significant blow to the cryptocurrency market.

The selloff pushed bitcoin to levels not witnessed since February 5, when the digital currency momentarily traded beneath the $60,000 threshold.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced a comprehensive state of emergency covering the entire nation immediately following the commencement of the military operations.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a U.S. official verified American involvement in the coordinated attacks.

Reuters reported that Israeli officials characterized the military action as a “preemptive strike,” citing statements from the nation’s defense leadership.

Why Bitcoin Sold Off First

Unlike traditional equity and bond markets that close for weekends, Bitcoin operates continuously without interruption, 24 hours daily, seven days weekly.

This constant availability positions it as among the few substantial, liquid assets accessible for traders to offload during heightened risk periods outside conventional market operating hours.

This behavior represents a recurring phenomenon. BTC frequently experiences rapid selloffs during geopolitical crises, often rebounding once conventional markets resume trading.

“Bitcoin just dropped off a cliff,” one market observer shared on X, further predicting that “Monday will be a bloodbath in the market.”

Geopolitical Context

The military operations arrive after several weeks of escalating U.S. military presence and unsuccessful nuclear discussions with Iranian leadership.

Market analysts had previously been examining potential implications of Iranian conflict for bitcoin, precious metals, and equity markets.

The military action heightens the possibility of expanded regional warfare in one of the globe’s most economically critical regions.

In recent months, bitcoin’s price movement has diverged from gold, challenging its narrative as a safe-haven or “digital gold” investment vehicle.

As of Saturday morning hours, bitcoin was changing hands near $63,000, with additional market volatility anticipated when conventional financial markets resume operations Monday.

KCS, STABLE, and PIPPIN are today’s top losers after the latest attacks.

Bitcoin’s price moves took another turn for the worse in the past few hours after Israel attacked Iran, and then US President Trump confirmed his country was also involved.

Numerous altcoins have bled out heavily, while Binance Coin has taken advantage and surpassed XRP in terms of market cap.

BTC Dumps Again

It was already a highly volatile trading week for the primary cryptocurrency as the bears seemed to be in full control by Tuesday. At the time, they pushed the asset south to a multi-week low of $62,500. However, bitcoin rebounded almost immediately and skyrocketed by several grand to $70,000 on Wednesday.

Many analysts speculated whether this was a typical dead-cat bounce, which turned out to be the case. At first, BTC slipped to around $68,000, where it spent most of Thursday and Friday. However, the situation worsened once again on Saturday morning when Israel launched a “preemptive” attack against Iran and issued a state of emergency.

In minutes, BTC plunged to under $62,800 before it recovered some ground to $63,400 as of press time. US President Donald Trump confirmed that the US was also involved in the attacks, and more volatility is expected later today as the situation unravels.

As of now, bitcoin’s market cap has slid to $1.275 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the alts is below 56%.

Alts Bleed

The graph below will show the painful reality in the altcoin space, in which almost all assets are deep in the red. ETH has plunged by $200 in the past few days to $1,850. XRP was surpassed by BNB after a 9% drop, while SOL has slumped by double digits to under $80.

ADA, HYPE, BCH, DOGE, CC, LINK, and XLM have plummeted hard as well. Declines of up to 20% are evident from KCS, PIPPIN, and STABLE, while stablecoins linked to gold are in the green.

The total crypto market cap has erased over $100 billion in the past day or so and is deep below $2.3 trillion on CG.