Blockchain analytics firms report that Bitcoin and other crypto withdrawals from Iranian exchange Nobitex surged roughly 700% within hours of the Tehran airstrikes, with total outflows from local platforms reaching $10.3 million over several days. The spike, which quickly faded as Iran's internet connectivity reportedly fell by about 99%, highlights how digital assets act as a sanctions-era escape valve without significantly moving global crypto prices.

On March 3, President Donald Trump warned major US banks to stop restricting crypto activity, tying their resistance to the stalled CLARITY Act and accusing them of undermining his digital asset agenda. At the same time, the crypto market cap moved above $2.4 trillion, with Bitcoin rising over 6% to reclaim the $71,000 level amid broader risk-off sentiment in traditional markets. The administration also moved to unwind Operation Choke Point 2.0 by repealing OCC Interpretive Letter #1179 on March 1, aiming to reopen banking access for crypto firms.

A study by the Bitcoin Policy Institute tested 36 frontier AI models from six major developers across 9,072 monetary scenarios and found bitcoin was chosen in 48.3% of responses overall, including 79.1% of long-term store-of-value cases. Stablecoins led payment-related questions with 53.2% of responses compared with 36% for bitcoin, while 90.8% of all answers favored digital instruments over fiat and none of the models ranked fiat as their top overall preference.

Bitcoin briefly dropped to $63,000 during a weekend escalation involving Israel, the U.S., and Iran, before rebounding to reclaim the $71,000 level. On-chain data points to seller exhaustion around $63,000 and negative exchange flows as coins moved off exchanges, while analysts highlight growing market resilience versus traditional assets. Key technical levels now focus on support near $65,700 and potential upside targets toward $74,000–$75,000 if Bitcoin holds above $70,500.

Midweek trading sees XRP climb 3.83% and pierce the daily Bollinger Band midpoint, setting technical targets at $1.50 and $1.92 while Bitcoin trades back above $71,000 after more than $250 million in short positions are liquidated. Over the same period, Cardano whales move 230 million ADA between Feb. 26 and March 3, easing selling pressure as the token recovers about 4%. Market focus now turns to key price levels for XRP, BTC and ADA ahead of the Fed Beige Book release.

On March 4, cryptocurrency analyst Matthew Hyland said the digital asset market may be close to entering its most powerful growth phase. He expects crypto could transition into a two to three year expansion within eight months, as several macro and on-chain indicators line up with the 2019–2020 pre-bull market environment. Hyland points to altcoin dominance, the ETH/BTC ratio, the U.S. dollar index and other cross-asset signals as evidence that conditions may be shifting back in favor of digital assets.

On 4 March 2026, Binance announced plans to pursue five additional cryptocurrency licenses across Asian jurisdictions, aiming to expand its regulated presence in the region. If achieved, the strategy would raise the exchange's total number of licensed markets to more than 20 and further align its operations with formal compliance frameworks. The move underscores Binance's focus on institutional adoption, regulatory oversight and long-term growth in Asia's active digital asset ecosystem.

Polymarket has archived a prediction market contract on whether a nuclear weapon would be detonated this year, after criticism over wagers tied to war and death. The market, which had multiple resolution dates and drew at least $650,000 in volume before being taken down, sparked concerns that such contracts on military actions could enable people with non-public information to profit.