Bitcoin climbed to a new monthly high above $73,000 after initially dropping to $63,000 when USA and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on Saturday. The price has since recovered more than $10,000, with analysts pointing to aggressive whale buying and a strong breakout, while warning that a fall below roughly $71,500–$72,000 could signal renewed weakness.

Pi Network co-founder Dr. Nicolas Kokkalis has detailed recent progress on the project's in-house KYC solution and its planned evolution into a standalone service for Web3 and traditional businesses. He highlighted the system's global coverage, integrated sanctions and compliance checks, and hybrid AI-plus-human verification model. Kokkalis added that upcoming enhancements like fingerprint verification aim to strengthen security while enabling wider onboarding into the Pi Network ecosystem, though community reactions remain mixed.

Bitcoin's price surged from just above $65,000 to nearly $69,000 within about an hour, wiping out roughly $80 million in short positions. Major altcoins also rallied, with ETH reclaiming $2,000, SOL approaching $90, and XRP and BNB gaining over 4% in the same period. The sharp move comes amid rising geopolitical tensions following US and Israeli strikes on Iran and ahead of a March 2, 2026 speech in which US President Trump is set to address the Iran conflict.

Spot XRP ETFs have broken their zero-inflow streak but only attracted $9.55 million over the latest reported week, far below the early surge that pushed cumulative inflows to $1.24 billion. Over the same period, XRP’s price whipsawed between $1.43 and $1.27 amid Middle East tensions and is now trading just under the $1.3820 resistance that one analyst views as crucial for further upside.

Bitcoin's early 2026 gains faded as the asset fell to a local low of $60,000 in early February and still closed the month with a double-digit percentage loss, marking five straight months in the red. Ethereum's run has been even weaker, with six consecutive negative months and steep drops of 17.7% and 19.6% in January and February while struggling to remain above $2,000.

Bitcoin’s price fell sharply to a multi-day low below $63,600 after reports that Israel launched a preemptive strike on Iran and announced a state of emergency. Within minutes, BTC dropped from $66,000 to $63,600 before bouncing to around $64,000, extending losses from a rejection at $68,000 the previous day. The broader crypto market also saw increased volatility, with many altcoins declining by more than 2% over the past hour and total liquidations reaching $450 million in 24 hours.

Bitcoin rebounded from a $62,500 local low to touch $70,000 before easing by about $2,000, while remaining roughly 4.5% higher on the day. Cardano advanced around 10% toward $0.30 as DOT led with a 24% rise near $1.60; Ethereum added 8% above $2,000 and total crypto cap climbed by $120 billion.

Over the weekend, Bitcoin fell to $62,500, then rebounded to $68,000 with a 6% daily rise, according to CoinGecko. On February 25, 2026, analyst CW cited BTC CVD data indicating "explosive buying" from whales. Ethereum climbed more than 10% above $2,000, XRP advanced 7% to above $1.45, and the total crypto market cap grew by $150 billion in just over a day.

Bitcoin climbed back above $65,000 after dropping to $62,500 earlier this week, while Solana gained 7% to reach $82. Ethereum hovered near $1,900 and XRP reclaimed the $1.36 support, as total crypto market capitalization added around $80 billion to hit $2.330 trillion on CG. KITE entered the top 100 with a 20% daily surge and a 135% monthly rise.