At 8:30 on a Friday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics dropped one of the more surprising jobs reports of the past year. The US economy added 178,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3%. When put against a Wall Street consensus calling for roughly 57,000 nonfarm payrolls, the number was […]
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The ongoing tensions in the Middle East continue to put immense pressure on Bitcoin and other risk assets. As investor sentiments turn increasingly cautious, analysts are weighing the potential impact of rising oil prices on Bitcoin. The overall outlook is not looking good, with projections suggesting further downside for the leading cryptocurrency. A clearer path to recovery may only appear if regional tensions ease. Surging Oil Prices Could See Bitcoin Crash Harder Market analysts have shared their thoughts and concerns with The Block about the ongoing US-Iran war and its impact on financial and crypto markets. Rachel Lucas, a crypto analyst at BTC Markets, has emphasized that the Bitcoin price continues to fluctuate amid new developments in the Middle East conflict. Related Reading: Here’s Why The Bitcoin Price Is Crashing, And Why It Could Continue Lucas noted that Bitcoin has had a volatile week, rising to $72,000 as investors hoped for a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing war. He noted that these gains were quickly reversed as optimism faded and concerns over oil supply resurfaced. This, in turn, triggered a “classic risk-off unwind,” in which investors pulled back from risky assets like Bitcoin and moved to safer investments amid fear. The analyst also explained that the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz is fueling concerns about inflation. These fears make it unlikely that the Federal Reserve will lower rates anytime soon, limiting opportunities for economic relief. Consequently, uncertainty and tighter financial conditions are adding further pressure on the crypto market, contributing to the recent decline across major assets. Expressing similar concerns, market expert Jeff Mei has taken a bearish stance on Bitcoin amid persistent tensions in the Middle East. The analyst stated that oil prices will likely remain elevated, which could slow economic growth in the months ahead. According to Mei, the combination of rising energy costs and weaker economic conditions means that crypto prices still have lots of room to decline. He projected that Bitcoin could even face another price crash to $60,000 before any sustained recovery. Notably, most bearish forecasts for Bitcoin clustered around the $60,000 level, suggesting that experts may see this as Bitcoin’s final price bottom. Analysts at Bernstein have also confirmed this price floor ahead of its $150,000 projected surge in the next bull cycle. Retail Investors Remain “Fearful” Lucas has also emphasized that retail investors are currently showing signs of fear, with many either hedging their positions or waiting on the sidelines for the market to stabilize and show clear direction. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index reflects this hesitation, as broader market sentiment stays neutral. Related Reading: The Last Time Bitcoin Sentiment Was This Bad Was 2022, But There Was A Silver Lining At the same time, the crypto Fear and Greed Index shows that the entire market is in extreme fear territory. Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin have continued to decline, further eroding investors’ confidence. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
Michael Barr called for for regulatory and technological measures that ensure stablecoins will not be used for illicit activities.
Waters argues that access to critical financial infrastructure should not be granted without full transparency.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Head of Research Vetle Lunde said subdued derivatives activity and limited inflows point to a cautious market, but one forming a bottom.
Bitcoin quietly gained ground while gold crumbled. That contrast has become one of the more telling stories to emerge from weeks of escalating conflict in the Middle East, as the two assets — long compared as competing stores of value — have moved in sharply opposite directions since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. Related Reading: Bitcoin Gains Ground On Gold Even As Both Assets Slide Bitcoin Climbs As Gold Bleeds Since those first attacks, Bitcoin has risen more than 11% to around $70,650. Gold, meanwhile, has shed over 12% from its peak. Reports indicate the cryptocurrency has held up better than expected under the pressure of a widening war — a performance that has drawn attention in financial markets still trying to make sense of the conflict’s economic fallout. Gold’s losses accelerated this week. The metal dropped 3.4% on Friday alone, closing around $4,480 per ounce. For the full week of March 16-20, the decline reached 10% — the steepest weekly fall since 1983, according to data confirmed by TradingView. It surpassed even the sharp drop seen in late January, when gold shed hundreds of dollars in a matter of days and wiped out more than $2 trillion in market value within weeks of hitting $5,500 per ounce. That January plunge shocked investors. This one may have rattled them more. Fed Signals No Rate Cuts, Adding Pressure On Gold The Federal Reserve is adding to gold’s troubles. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that rising energy prices — driven in part by war-related disruptions in the Middle East — are expected to push inflation higher in the near term. Traders have responded by pulling back expectations for rate cuts in 2025. Rates are now widely expected to hold steady through the year. That shift matters for gold. When interest rates stay high, bonds and other yield-bearing instruments become more attractive by comparison. Gold pays no interest. It earns nothing while it sits. Reports note that this dynamic has weighed on demand from institutional investors who might otherwise hold the metal as a hedge. Related Reading: Crypto Adoption No Longer Optional, Survey Finds As 72% Of Finance Leaders Signal Commitment Trump Signals Possible Wind-Down Of Military Push The Iran conflict has also disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical shipping corridors. That disruption has stoked fears of a prolonged energy crunch, adding more uncertainty to global markets already on edge. US President Donald Trump said Friday he was considering pulling back from military operations in the region. At the same time, the US has deployed thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, and airstrikes have continued. The mixed signals have left markets guessing about what comes next. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has reiterated his $250,000 year-end price target for Bitcoin. With Bitcoin trading around $70,100, that target would imply roughly 256.5% upside from current levels and a clean break above its previous peak at $126,000 from October 2025. Reiterating Bullish Predictions Arthur Hayes is one of the most outspoken bullish proponents for Bitcoin. He has, on multiple occasions, pointed to Bitcoin breaking above $200,000 among his long-term bullish expectations for the asset. That earlier stance has now been reaffirmed in a recent YouTube interview. Related Reading: Bitcoin Is Still Bearish And Price Is Headed Below $50,000; Analyst Given how Bitcoin’s price action has unfolded since those earlier calls, Hayes was pressed on whether his outlook had changed in a recent YouTube interview. Hayes was asked whether his Bitcoin prediction for 2026 has changed, and his response left little room for interpretation. He stated that he would “go the same number,” repeating his $250,000 Bitcoin target by the end of the year. The consistency in his outlook shows that his conviction has not changed despite recent price fluctuations and the inability of Bitcoin’s correction to find a bottom. Although the $250,000 prediction did not come with a direct breakdown at that moment, Hayes has always given different reasons as to why he is bullish in other similar predictions. He has previously noted that a prolonged US-Iran conflict could force the Federal Reserve to print more money, which in turn would have a ripple effect in driving the Bitcoin price higher. Can Bitcoin Reach $250,000 In 2026? At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $70,100 and now seems to have registered a bottom just above $61,000. Therefore, a move to $250,000 would push Bitcoin far above its previous high at $126,000 and establish a completely new price range. Related Reading: Bitcoin Just Flashed The Most Powerful Fractal In The Market, Here’s What To Expect Recent price action shows that Bitcoin has struggled to break out of its current consolidation, repeatedly moving within a broad $60,000 to $74,000 band without a decisive trend in either direction. A rally to $250,000 would require Bitcoin to first clear its current range and then reclaim higher price zones that were lost during the correction from its 2025 peak. Technical analysis suggests that once Bitcoin breaks through certain supply gaps above $76,000, then it could rally fast due to thinner resistance. Hayes had earlier projected a bigger Bitcoin target in the $500,000 to $750,000 range by the end of 2026, with his prediction based on escalating tensions in the Middle East. However, he has also noted a bit of caution for Bitcoin while speaking at another similar podcast interview. “If I had $1 to invest right now, would I be putting it into Bitcoin? No. I would wait,” Hayes said, stating he would only become a buyer when the Federal Reserve begins easing. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
The sell-off extended beyond crypto as investors reassessed the macro outlook following the Fed’s latest guidance.
Hot PPI inflation data in the morning and hawkish remarks by Powell in the afternoon would be the most damaging combination for risk assets, including crypto, Bitfinex analysts said.
Washington has spent years talking about a US CBDC as a distant possibility. It was an abstract policy idea, safely contained inside white papers and partisan messaging. But then the Senate put a number on it and made it very real. On March 2, senators voted 84-6 to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed […]
The post The six senators who voted against the March digital dollar ban: Johnson, Lee, Murphy, Scott, Tuberville, and Van Hollen appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The decision arrives days after the Kansas City Fed granted Kraken the first-ever crypto master account, a landmark for the crypto industry.
Washington is getting ready to potentially make life easier for the biggest US banks. That can sound pretty abstract if you don't strip it down to the mechanics. Regulators decide how much capital banks must keep to absorb losses and how much liquidity they need if funding starts to disappear. More capital and more liquidity […]
The post Washington prepares $175B break for big banks — weakening protections against financial crisis appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Just days after the Federal Reserve granted a limited master account to Kraken, crypto bank Custodia's years-long court battle with the Fed concludes in a loss.
Seven major central banks, including the Federal Reserve, will issue rate decisions next week just as war-driven oil price spikes raise fresh concerns about global inflation.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The Bank Policy Institute is reportedly weighing a lawsuit against the OCC over national trust charters for crypto and fintech firms.
Tokenized securities can qualify as financial collateral under existing rules if they meet certain requirements like traditional securities.
The Federal Reserve and other banking regulators clarified that the capital tally in banks needs identical treatment whether securities are tokenized or not.
The Kansas City Fed may term this "Tier 3" access, but Kraken's entry into the vaunted Fed payments system has riled bankers and raised crypto hopes.
Banks are expected to object and potentially pursue litigation, but TD Cowen argues they lack the power to stop such approvals.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Some crypto advocates argue the decision could open the door to payment-focused financial institutions that operate without traditional deposit-lending models.
The approval lets Kraken speed up deposits and withdrawals for large traders and institutional clients, but is limited.
The proposal would cut the risk factor from Fed oversight and bar supervisors from pushing banks to cut off disfavored businesses, including in crypto.
The Fed has opened a comment period on removing "reputation risk" from bank supervision, aiming to address debanking concerns.
The Bitcoin’s recent pullback may look concerning on the surface, but according to Brian Armstrong, the move has more to do with the market psychology than with any deterioration in fundamentals. After a period of strong performance, shifting sentiment and broader market uncertainty are playing a larger role in BTC’s price movement than structural weaknesses within the network or its long-term value proposition. Why Bitcoin’s Core Strengths Remain Intact A crypto expert known as Walter Bloomberg on X has revealed that the Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes Bitcoin’s recent slide is temporary and is driven primarily by market psychology rather than weakening fundamentals. Related Reading: Standard Chartered Lowers Bitcoin Forecast: Predicts Price Dive To $50,000 Before Rebound Speaking to the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) at the World Liberty Forum in Florida, Armstrong pushed back against the speculation linking the decline to potential Federal Reserve (Fed) leadership changes or emerging risks such as quantum computing. Instead, Armstrong explained that the move reflects investors locking in profits and reacting to what they believe others are thinking. He described the downturn as likely temporary, noting that Coinbase is repurchasing shares and buying more BTC at a lower price. Armstrong emphasized that crypto market cycles are normal, reiterating that BTC remains the best-performing asset of the past decade and that the company continues to focus on long-term growth. Is This The Early Stage Of Another Supply Shock? Bitcoin whales have accumulated more than 200,000 BTC despite the ongoing selling pressure. Analyst Darkfost highlighted that while whale inflows to exchanges have increased recently, their overall holdings have continued to grow. Thus, inflows typically reflect short-term behaviour and can generate immediate selling pressure. Related Reading: Bitcoin Whales Flood Binance As Correction Deepens: On-Chain Data Shows The chart below provides a medium-term perspective by tracking the evolution of the whale-held supply on a monthly average basis. After a sharp drop in this average to nearly -7% on December 15, whale behaviour appears to have shifted over the past month, with their holdings increasing by 3.4%. During this period, the BTC supply by whales grew from 2.9 million BTC to over 3.1 million BTC, representing an accumulation of more than 200,000 BTC. Meanwhile, the last time whale accumulation of this magnitude occurred was during the April 2025 market correction. At that time, this wave of accumulation had helped absorb selling pressure and supported the rally that pushed BTC from $76,000 to $126,000. However, with BTC still consolidating around 46% below its recent all-time high, the current level may be viewed as an attractive accumulation zone. Darkfost noted that it is not surprising to see some whales taking advantage of this opportunity. As selling pressure remains significant, this whale demand may not yet be sufficient on its own to fully counterbalance the broader market. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
A deep look at predictions on Kalshi called such platforms valuable to policymakers and researchers, according to a new Fed paper.
The Minneapolis Fed president said stablecoins don’t beat Venmo and argued crypto fails basic real-world tests.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.