Australia is on a trajectory for only $710 million in annual economic gains from crypto by 2030 unless there's a substantial change, the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre says.
Hours after explosions were reported in Tehran, digital money began moving. Reports say cryptocurrency withdrawals from Iran’s largest exchange jumped sharply as news of US and Israeli airstrikes spread across the country. Related Reading: Crypto’s Quietest Month In Nearly A Year — But Hackers Haven’t Gone Away Blockchain data reviewed by analytics firms shows outflows rising about 700% in a short window, a spike that stood out against normal daily activity. Crypto Rush Follows Airstrikes According to blockchain tracking firm Elliptic, wallets linked to Nobitex, Iran’s biggest crypto trading platform, sent out far more funds than usual within minutes of the first strike. In less than an hour, transfers climbed into the millions of dollars. The surge was quick. It was also brief. The timing caught attention. Based on reports, the jump began almost immediately after confirmation of military action. Digital assets were shifted to external wallets and, in some cases, to overseas exchanges. For many Iranians who already face sanctions and banking limits, crypto has become one of the few ways to move value across borders. Nobitex has long operated in a gray zone shaped by sanctions and capital controls. Crypto use in the country has grown over the years as access to global finance tightened. During past waves of unrest, similar patterns were recorded, though not always at this scale. Internet Blackout Slows The Flow The rush did not last. Reports note that internet connectivity across Iran dropped by about 99% shortly after the strikes, limiting further transfers. With connections cut or heavily restricted, the stream of outgoing crypto transactions slowed to a trickle. TRM Labs, another blockchain analytics firm, said the spike may reflect short-term panic rather than an organized effort to move large pools of capital. A sharp move from a low base can look dramatic in percentage terms. Some transactions were completed before the blackout. Others appear to have stalled. Transfers can be initiated quickly, but they still depend on access to the internet and functioning platforms. When connectivity disappears, so does that option. Weakened Currency Iran’s economy has been under strain for years. Sanctions tied to its nuclear program and regional policies have limited trade and weakened the national currency. Crypto mining and trading, at times tolerated and at other times restricted, have offered an alternative path for some citizens and businesses. Related Reading: Wall Street Giant JPMorgan Sees Clarity Act Driving Second-Half Upside There has been no public sign that the spike altered broader crypto prices. Bitcoin and other major tokens reacted more to global risk sentiment than to activity inside Iran alone. Still, the 700% surge serves as another example of how quickly digital money can respond to geopolitical shocks. For a few tense hours, crypto became a lifeline for some users in Iran. Then the cables went dark, and the flow slowed. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from TradingView
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan wrote that the US military strikes on Iran, announced Sunday morning, accelerated the shift toward onchain finance.
Trump's push for crypto collaboration may reshape financial regulations, challenging traditional banks and potentially boosting US crypto leadership.
The post Trump pressures banks to make deal with crypto firms over market structure bill appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Trump has urged banking groups to “make a good deal” with the crypto industry and said undermining the GENIUS Act is “unacceptable.”
Altcoins have endured a prolonged structural decline since the peak of the 2021 bull cycle. While Bitcoin has managed to preserve portions of its macro uptrend, most alternative tokens have printed persistent lower highs and lower lows across multiple timeframes. For many projects, what began as a cyclical correction has evolved into a multi-year erosion of capital, liquidity, and investor confidence. Related Reading: Bloodbath Or Buy-Zone? Bitcoin’s $66K Stagnation Hits The 25% Loss Threshold Historically Tied To Market Bottoms Recent data shared by analyst Darkfost underscores the severity of the situation: approximately 38% of altcoins are now trading near their all-time lows. This figure exceeds the stress levels observed in the immediate aftermath of the FTX collapse, highlighting that the current weakness is not merely episodic but systemic. The broader macro environment remains hostile to speculative positioning. Liquidity conditions are fragile, and capital allocation appears increasingly selective. Instead of rotating into higher-beta crypto assets, flows are gravitating toward equities and commodities, where volatility and narrative clarity are currently stronger. In such an environment, altcoins — which depend heavily on surplus liquidity and risk appetite — tend to suffer disproportionately. Altcoins at Cycle Lows as Structural Regression Peaks Darkfost highlights that the “percentage of altcoins near ATL” metric provides a direct measure of structural stress across the broader crypto market. At current levels, roughly 38% of altcoins are trading near their historical lows — marking the most severe regression observed during this cycle. This is not a localized correction in a handful of weak tokens; it reflects a widespread contraction in valuations across the altcoin spectrum. For context, the metric previously peaked around 35% in April 2025 and reached approximately 37.8% in the immediate aftermath of the FTX collapse. The fact that the present reading exceeds both of those periods underscores how persistent the pressure has become. Despite intermittent rebounds, capital rotation into altcoins has failed to materialize in a sustained manner. The chart effectively captures the prevailing sentiment: investors remain defensive, liquidity is selective, and speculative appetite is subdued. In such phases, altcoins — typically higher-beta instruments — are disproportionately affected. Yet historically, extreme deterioration has often preceded inflection points. When positioning becomes overly compressed and expectations are deeply pessimistic, asymmetry begins to develop. While timing remains uncertain, structurally depressed conditions are also the environments in which longer-term opportunities tend to emerge. Related Reading: The $650M Wave: Why XRP’s Record Inflow To Binance Signals A Massive Institutional Retreat Altcoin Market Cap Pressures Key Weekly Support as Breadth Weakens The weekly chart of the total crypto market cap excluding the top 10 assets highlights the structural fragility of the broader altcoin segment. Currently hovering near $169 billion, the index has retraced significantly from its 2025 highs and is now pressing into a historically sensitive demand zone. Technically, price has fallen below the 50-week (blue) and 100-week (green) moving averages, both of which have begun to roll over. This alignment signals a loss of medium-term momentum. The 200-week moving average (red), positioned slightly above current levels, is now acting as dynamic resistance rather than support — a notable shift compared to the recovery phase seen in 2023 and early 2024. Related Reading: The Distribution Trap: Why Bitcoin’s Reserve Growth Proves Sellers Still Hold The Tape The structure resembles a lower-high formation following the 2025 peak, suggesting distribution rather than accumulation. Volume expanded during major selloffs, particularly on large red weekly candles, indicating forced exits and liquidity stress rather than orderly consolidation. From a cyclical perspective, the $160–$170 billion region represents a key inflection area. A sustained break below this zone would open the path toward the $130–$140 billion range, revisiting 2023 support levels. Conversely, a weekly reclaim of the 200-week average would be required to signal structural stabilization. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Colombia's top criminal court cited AI detectors to reject a lawyer's appeal. An attorney then ran the court's ruling through the same software and got a 93% match.
Ray Dalio says that gold is a better safe-haven asset in times of conflict compared to Bitcoin, and raised concerns about the cryptocurrency’s lack of privacy.
War is burning across the Middle East. Oil prices are climbing. Stock markets in Asia have taken a hit. And yet, Bitcoin is still standing above $66,000 — a fact that has caught the attention of analysts keeping a close eye on the market. Related Reading: Crypto’s Quietest Month In Nearly A Year — But Hackers Haven’t Gone Away Calm Where There Should Be Panic The group most closely watched during moments of market stress is what analysts call short-term holders — people who bought Bitcoin recently and are most likely to sell fast when things go wrong. Based on reports from on-chain data platform CryptoQuant, that group has stayed unusually quiet. When Bitcoin slipped into the $63,000 to $64,000 range on Feb. 28, exchange inflows from recent buyers barely moved. No major wave of selling followed. No spike in coins being rushed to exchanges at a loss. That was not the case earlier in February. Reports say that on Feb. 5-6, short-term holders sent 89,000 BTC to exchanges at a loss within a single 24-hour window. It was a clear panic event. Since then, those kinds of loss-driven transfers have been falling steadily — and the Iran escalation did not reverse that trend. CryptoQuant analyst Moreno, who tracked the data, says this matters because markets tend to find their footing once the most nervous sellers have already exited. If exchange inflows from short-term holders remain low, it could point to seller exhaustion and set the stage for a price recovery. A sudden jump in those inflows, however, would suggest the selling is not done. What History Says About War And Bitcoin This is not the first time Bitcoin has been tested by armed conflict. According to market analyst Ted Pillows, the pattern has played out twice before. When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Bitcoin dropped — then surged 40%. When Israel struck Iran in June 2025, Bitcoin dipped again before gaining 25%. Feb 2022: Russia attacked Ukraine. ▫️ $BTC dumped first and then rallied 40%. June 2025: Israel attacked Iran. ▫️ Bitcoin dumped first and then rallied 25%. Feb 2026: US attacked Iran. Will a similar pattern follow again? pic.twitter.com/b8FLF4aR9p — Ted (@TedPillows) February 28, 2026 Now, following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February 2026, Bitcoin has once again pulled back. Pillows is now asking whether that same rebound pattern could follow a third time. The current conflict is far larger than those earlier flashpoints. Reports say US-Israeli forces struck more than 2,000 targets across 131 Iranian cities and provinces, hitting nuclear sites, missile systems, and senior military figures, including Iran’s Supreme Leader. Related Reading: Wall Street Giant JPMorgan Sees Clarity Act Driving Second-Half Upside Bitcoin Price Action Iran fired back with missiles and drones aimed at Israel, US bases, and multiple Gulf states. The war has dragged in Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Cyprus, and a UK military base. Bitcoin has dropped 3.5% since Feb. 26, bringing its price to $65,540. It briefly touched $63,030 on Feb. 28 before climbing back above $65,000. Given the scale of what is happening on the ground, that kind of price movement is relatively contained. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, says creators posting AI-generated war videos without disclosure will lose access to X’s revenue-sharing program.
Indiana has become the first state in the US to legalize the inclusion of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into state-managed retirement and savings plans. On March 3, Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed this into law underHouse Bill 1042, titled “Regulation and Investment of Cryptocurrency.” Henceforth, state-managed retirement and savings plans are mandated to provide at …
The dispute centers on whether crypto firms should be allowed to offer stablecoin yield, an issue that has stalled key negotiations.
Trump took a side on the ongoing debate over stablecoin yield that is holding up the passage of broad crypto market structure legislation.
Super PACs backed by the crypto industry are expected to spend millions of dollars in the 2026 midterm elections after many of their chosen candidates won in 2024.
Joe Burnett, VP of Bitcoin Strategy at Strive (Nasdaq: ASST), is arguing that bitcoin could reach $11 million by the first quarter of 2036, not because it replaces the financial system, but because it becomes the dominant long-duration savings asset in an economy reshaped by AI-led deflation and repeated monetary expansion. His thesis, laid out in a March 2 Substack note, frames bitcoin less as a speculative trade and more as the asset most likely to absorb excess liquidity in a world of falling production costs and chronic policy intervention. Burnett’s base case implies a bitcoin network value of roughly $230 trillion by 2036. He sets that against a global financial asset base that he estimates could grow from more than $1 quadrillion today to about $1.97 quadrillion over the next decade, assuming 7% annual compounding. In that framework, bitcoin would account for around 12% of global financial assets. “That outcome reflects a measured repricing of global wealth toward the only monetary asset with absolute scarcity,” Burnett wrote. “Bitcoin does not need to replace all currencies. It does not need universal daily transactional use. It only needs to become the primary long-duration savings asset in a world defined by monetary expansion and technology deflation.” The Bitcoin 2036 AI-Deflation Thesis At the center of the argument is what Burnett calls the “AI deflation engine.” His view is that artificial intelligence will compress labor costs, speed up output and intensify competition across both digital and physical industries, creating sustained downward pressure on prices. He compares the shift to the automobile’s displacement of horses, but argues that this time the target is white-collar labor. AI, he wrote, is already drafting contracts, analyzing financials, writing code and handling research once performed by junior professionals, while robotics continue pushing into logistics, manufacturing and agriculture. Related Reading: Bitcoin Prints Fifth Straight Red Month; Previous Streak Was Followed By 300% Surge In a neutral monetary system, he argues, that kind of productivity boom would simply raise real purchasing power. In a debt-based fiat system, it becomes destabilizing. Falling wages, weaker asset prices and fixed nominal liabilities do not mix well. “As AI drives real-economy deflation, central banks and fiscal authorities expand liquidity to prevent a deflationary spiral,” Burnett wrote. “The more effective AI becomes at reducing costs, the more aggressive the monetary response becomes to prevent debt deflation.” That policy reflex is the bridge to bitcoin. Burnett argues that every deflationary shock begins with a move into cash and sovereign bonds, but that phase tends to give way to rate cuts, balance-sheet expansion, credit support and fiscal transfers. He points to earlier episodes in 1987, 2001, 2008, 2020 and 2022 as evidence that policymakers do not tolerate sustained deflation. In his telling, the long-run result is persistent productivity deflation paired with persistent monetary expansion, a mix that leaves capital searching for an asset whose supply cannot be politically expanded. From there, Burnett widens the lens. Equities, in his view, are increasingly exposed to AI-driven creative destruction. Real estate retains scarcity value, but technology could accelerate design, permitting and construction, limiting long-run upside. Sovereign bonds, meanwhile, offer nominal stability while remaining tied to currencies subject to ongoing dilution. Bitcoin, he argues, sits in a different category because its supply cap, divisibility, portability and verifiability make it uniquely suited to absorb global liquidity over time. He also ties that thesis to a newer market structure he calls “Digital Credit” — income-generating securities backed by large bitcoin balance sheets. Burnett cites publicly traded instruments such as STRC and SATA as examples of vehicles that offer dollar income to credit investors while channeling capital into additional bitcoin accumulation. That, he argues, could create a reflexive loop between global yield demand and bitcoin buying. Related Reading: Bitcoin Sentiment On Wall Street Has Turned Negative, Galaxy’s Thorn Says The note leans heavily on scarcity math. Burnett writes that by 2036, fewer than 41,000 new BTC will be issued over the entire year. If global financial assets reach roughly $2 quadrillion and only 1% of one year’s incremental capital formation seeks monetary preservation in bitcoin, that would still amount to $1.4 trillion competing for that limited new supply — or roughly $34 million of demand per newly issued coin. “The path will not be smooth, but the conclusion will become increasingly obvious,” Burnett wrote. “Bitcoin’s trajectory toward eight-figure price levels reflects structural monetary conditions rather than speculative enthusiasm and ‘belief.’ As liquidity continues expanding within a technologically deflationary world, capital will concentrate into assets capable of preserving value across time.” His closing point is less about straight-line appreciation than timing. Markets, he argues, still price bitcoin as a volatile cyclical asset. The next decade, in his view, will increasingly price it as monetary infrastructure. Whether that transition plays out anywhere near his $11 million target, Burnett’s thesis is clear: if AI keeps driving abundance and policymakers keep offsetting it with liquidity, bitcoin may be where a growing share of global capital ends up. At press time, Bitcoin traded at $66,958. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
In an interview with Natalie Brunell on Coin Stories, Masie described Bitcoin as functional currency in parts of Africa amid rapid inflation and currency debasement.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the banking industry is trying to undermine the stablecoin bill he signed into law last year.
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says the Iran attack weekend showed how onchain markets like Hyperliquid are becoming key venues for global trading.
The post Bitwise CIO says weekend Iran strike exposed advantage of 24/7 markets like Hyperliquid appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig addressed market structure, prediction markets and perpetual futures at a Tuesday event.
MARA has "fact checked" claims it adopted a Bitcoin sell-off strategy, clarifying its filing allows flexible sales but does not signal a majority liquidation.
Top Republican Rep. French Hill has some advice for his colleagues in the Senate on how to unstick its stablecoin yield problem.
Ethereum could help with “de-totalization;” fending off the possibility that any single actor achieves total control.
Google launches Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite, a fast low cost AI model for developers with improved speed, benchmarks and scalable API pricing.
The post Google launches Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite as fastest and cheapest Gemini 3 model appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
OpenAI releases GPT-5.3 Instant for ChatGPT with fewer refusals, improved web answers, and reduced hallucinations across major benchmarks.
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Vitalik Buterin urges Ethereum to expand beyond finance and help build open technologies that protect privacy and digital coordination.
The post Vitalik Buterin urges Ethereum to focus on sanctuary technologies beyond finance appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
A16z added the NovaBlindFold folding scheme to the open-source Jolt zkVM, “rendering it suitable for privacy applications.”
Dimon argued stablecoin issuers paying interest should meet bank standards as talks continue in Washington about the CLARITY Act.
The Bitcoin market appears to be entering a decisive holding phase, with on-chain data signaling a steady contraction in active supply. Rather than aggressive selling or speculative rotation, a growing portion of circulating BTC is moving into long-term storage, reducing the amount readily available for trading. This tightening liquidity dynamic reflects rising investor conviction, as holders choose accumulation over distribution. How Volatility Compression Tightens Bitcoin’s Range In a recent post on X, Joao Wedson, the founder and CEO of Alphractal, noted that the Bitcoin 30-Day active supply has dropped sharply in recent weeks, which is a clear signal that fewer BTC have moved across the network over the past month. Due to this BTC drop, active participation has decreased, and the market has become quieter, with fewer units changing hands in the short to medium term. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Turbulent Ride: How BTC’s Price Has Fared With Escalating Mid-East Conflicts Wedson explains that when this 30-day active supply indicator spikes higher, it typically reflects that short-term holders and retail investors are experiencing strong emotions. The high peaks in the 30-day active supply often coincide with strong retail moments driven by euphoria or panic. This is when more coins return to circulation, whether driven by FOMO during rallies or capitulation during sharp corrections. Thus, when the indicator declines downward, it generally signals the volatility compression, low supply rotation, and market participants appear more patient. In simple terms, the high 30-day active supply would show emotion, rotation, and active retail engagement. Meanwhile, the low 30-day active supply would show apathy, holding behavior, and tighter market structural conditions. This 30-day active supply is an excellent metric for capturing the market’s monthly behavioral pulse. BTC Enters A Decision Level With Statistical Significance The Bitcoin price action is approaching its next pivot on the 3rd, a level that has historically produced meaningful reactions. According to a crypto trader known as LP on X, reviewing the last eight pivot occurrences, five have resulted in local lows. Statistically, that move gives the current Low-Time Frame (LTF) pivot a slight tendency to form a bottom, but the context matters. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Explodes Higher, $70K Level Faces Fresh Bullish Assault However, if the price sells off into a pivot, the probability of it acting as the local low increases. Then, if the price rallies into the pivot, the odds would shift toward marking a local high. Over the past several days, the price has been volatile but generally has been grinding higher into the upcoming pivot, slightly increasing the risk of a level that could form a high. Historically, reactions from this pivot have led to moves in the 7% and 9% range, suggesting that whichever direction is confirmed could result in a meaningful expansion. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
The rollout enables banks and fintechs in 30 European markets to embed licensed custody, payments on- and off-ramps and trading through API-based infrastructure.
US Dollar Index strength, fear that BTC miners may liquidate their reserves and Bitcoin’s performance compared to stocks raise concerns among investors.