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Crypto market maker Wintermute noted in a weekly report that macroeconomic developments over the next five days will be crucial for Bitcoin's continued rebound. The analysis follows U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to delay an airstrike on an Iranian power plant by five days, signaling a willingness to negotiate an end to the war. Wintermute stated that this move helped restore risk-on sentiment, allowing BTC to reclaim the $70,000 level. However, the firm cautioned that the Federal Reserve's 'higher for longer' interest rate policy continues to weigh on Bitcoin. According to the report, if there are improvements in the logistics situation in the Strait of Hormuz or if Iran signals a willingness to negotiate, BTC could re-challenge the $74,000-$76,000 resistance zone. Conversely, a breakdown in talks or continued maritime transport restrictions would likely heighten oil price risks, potentially sending BTC to retest its support in the mid-$60,000 range.

On-chain analyst EmberCN has identified a massive influx of Bitlayer (BTR) tokens onto the South Korean exchange Bithumb as the primary driver behind the token's recent price collapse. According to the analyst, BTR's price plummeted 80% yesterday, falling from $0.2 to approximately $0.04. EmberCN noted that during the 24 hours following the start of the decline, 140 million BTR—equivalent to 41% of the token's total circulating supply—were transferred to Bithumb, concentrating sell-side pressure on the platform. According to CoinMarketCap, BTR is currently trading at $0.04158, down 70.9%.

European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Piero Cipollone has stated that tokenized central bank money must serve as public payment infrastructure for Europe's tokenized financial market to expand. According to Cointelegraph, Cipollone warned in a speech in Brussels that without a payment method based on central bank digital currency, sellers of tokenized securities could be forced to accept payment in assets exposed to price volatility or credit risk, hindering market expansion. The ECB is currently planning to support central bank money-based settlements by connecting market DLT platforms with its existing TARGET payment service through the Eurosystem's Pontes project. The project is slated for launch in the third quarter of this year.

Bitcoin has outperformed gold and the S&P 500 index since the start of the Middle East war, which was triggered by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, according to an analysis by Bitcoin exchange River Financial, as reported by The Crypto Basic. River Financial noted that since the war began on Feb. 28, Bitcoin has risen approximately 12%, while gold has fallen 16% and the S&P 500 has dropped 4%. The exchange explained that Bitcoin has previously shown resilience by outperforming gold and the S&P 500 after a recovery period following several major macroeconomic crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. "This suggests that Bitcoin is establishing itself as a risk-hedging instrument," the firm added.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez noted that in the past, when Cardano (ADA) has fallen to the $0.25 level, it has been followed by rallies of 85% and 200%, respectively. In a post to his 164,000 followers on X, Martinez shared a weekly chart indicating that after ADA dipped below $0.25 in 2022 and 2023, it subsequently rose by 85.11% and 200.54% from those lows. According to CoinMarketCap, ADA is currently trading at $0.2648, up 6.63%.

Crypto market-making firm Flowdesk deposited 6,088 ETH ($13.12 million) and 1.62 million LINK ($14.82 million) to Binance nine hours ago, The Data Nerd reported. Deposits to exchanges are typically viewed as a precursor to selling.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are accelerating preparations to actively participate in a potential war with Iran as the widening Middle East conflict poses a direct threat to their economies, The Times of Israel reported. Citing The Wall Street Journal, the outlet noted that both nations have adopted a more active stance since allowing the U.S. military to use airbases within their territories. A decision by Saudi Arabia to intervene is now just a matter of time, according to a source. However, the report added that the Gulf states have not yet launched a direct attack on Iran, as their leaders are extremely concerned about triggering a larger, uncontrollable war.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to return approximately $470,000 in Tether (USDT) to the victims of a cryptocurrency investment scam, The Daily Hodl reported. The funds were seized during an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). According to the report, two victims were defrauded of over $800,000 in 2022 after being tricked into sending their cryptocurrency to a scammer. The FBI subsequently tracked and seized about $477,000 in USDT, which was identified as criminal proceeds linked to money laundering. A federal court has approved the forfeiture of the funds, and the recovered assets are now scheduled to be returned to the victims.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has filed an administrative lawsuit to challenge sanctions imposed by the country's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), News1 reported. According to industry sources on March 24, Bithumb hired the law firm Bae, Kim & Lee and filed a suit with the Seoul Administrative Court yesterday to overturn a partial business suspension. The exchange also requested a stay of execution. If the court grants the stay, the suspension, which is scheduled to begin on March 27, will be paused until a final verdict is reached in the main case. The FIU previously imposed a six-month partial business suspension and a 36.8 billion won (approx. $27.5 million) fine on Bithumb for violations of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information.

The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council recently issued new regulations on maintaining integrity for executives of state-owned enterprises. The rules explicitly prohibit executives from using their authority or the influence of their positions to pursue personal gain. The list of prohibited items that executives may not accept now specifies gifts, money, and virtual assets, including cryptocurrency.

Vander Straeten, CEO of Cryptofinance, said at a recent event that it will take at least five to 10 years for traditional financial institutions to adopt decentralized finance (DeFi). He explained that large financial institutions are inevitably cautious about entering new markets before regulatory clarity is established, a structural constraint likely to perpetuate the innovation gap with crypto platforms. Straeten added that younger investors find it difficult to accept the existing system of waiting two days for stock sale settlements and are looking for an environment that allows for immediate reinvestment. While the regulatory landscape is changing rapidly, he noted, major financial institutions will not enter the market without clear rules.

Strategy CEO Phong Le has purchased $250,000 worth of the company's perpetual preferred stock (STRC), BitcoinTreasuries reported. The move follows a previous announcement that Strategy had significantly expanded its at-the-market (ATM) equity offering program to raise up to $44.1 billion. While the latest announcement did not mention any plans to buy Bitcoin, Strategy has historically used various stock sale programs to fund its BTC acquisitions.

Passing South Korea's Digital Asset Basic Act, which includes stablecoin regulations, is unlikely in the first half of this year, Edaily reported. The legislation, a national agenda item, has reportedly been deprioritized in favor of addressing the war in Iran and preparing for local elections. The ruling Democratic Party has not included the bill on the agenda for the National Assembly's National Policy Committee subcommittee meetings scheduled for March 31 and for another session next month. Kang Jun-hyeon, the ruling party's secretary for the committee, told the outlet that it would be physically difficult to table and discuss the act during these sessions. He also stated that no dates have been set for meetings of the digital asset task force or for party-government consultations on the matter.

CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn said on X that 703 days have passed since the last Bitcoin halving. He noted that historically, a market bottom has started to form around the 777-day mark post-halving, suggesting that a bottom could be approximately two months away.

Bybit announced it has delisted the ALGO/BTC spot trading pair.

Bithumb has announced it will temporarily suspend SGB withdrawals starting at 8:00 a.m. UTC on March 31.

An analysis suggests that if the 10-year U.S. Treasury swap spread—the difference between Treasury yields and interbank lending rates—exceeds 60 basis points, it could increase pressure on the broader financial markets. According to CoinDesk, the head of Americas research at ING explained in a report that the spread should be closely monitored. While it is currently below 50 basis points, a rise to 60 basis points could amplify market instability. This is because it goes beyond psychological factors to raise the actual borrowing costs for the U.S. government, making it more expensive to issue new debt amid its massive debt load. Ultimately, this could lead to tighter credit conditions across the financial system and intensify risk-off sentiment for assets like stocks and Bitcoin, the analyst noted.

South Korean crypto exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone announced they are removing IoTeX (IOTX) from their delisting watchlists. The exchanges explained that after a review process with the IOTX team, they received and examined materials detailing a security incident and the project's subsequent response. They concluded that the reasons for the watchlist designation have been resolved.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb plans to file an administrative lawsuit against a recent partial business suspension order issued by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Money Today reported. The FIU operates under South Korea's Financial Services Commission. Bithumb is currently considering a lawsuit to cancel the order and an application for a stay of execution. The suspension is scheduled to begin on March 27, and the exchange is expected to file its legal challenge shortly. The move is seen as a strategy to counter the severe sanctions imposed by financial authorities.

The financial regulatory bureau of China's Hainan province has issued a warning against the trading of real-world assets (RWA), Foresight News reported. The bureau stated that any market entity brokering RWA transactions under an exchange name without official approval is engaging in illegal financial activities that threaten public assets. The warning specifically mentioned local exchanges that support RWA trading, including the Hainan International Data Asset Exchange, the Hainan Data Exchange, and the Hainan Ocean Exchange.

Binance has recorded $1.43 billion in BTC spot trading volume, maintaining a high market share, according to cryptocurrency analyst Burak Kesmeci. He noted that Binance's volume is more than double that of the second-ranked exchange, Crypto.com, which saw $673 million. Kesmeci also pointed out that BTC spot trading volume has consistently remained above $1 billion, even amid growing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Katana (KAT), a DeFi-focused Layer 2 incubated by Polygon, has acquired the decentralized exchange IDEX to grow its Katana Perp platform, The Block reported. Katana Perp, a perpetual futures exchange, received investment from GSR Markets and Selini Capital at its launch. Project head Matthew Fisher explained that IDEX will help build the core foundation of Katana Perp. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

An address believed to belong to Forward Industries, which has been strategically accumulating Solana (SOL), withdrew 4,648 ETH ($9.95 million) from Kraken about 20 minutes ago, Onchain Lens reported.

Swiss state-owned bank PostFinance has announced support for Algorand (ALGO) trading. The bank's 2.5 million customers can now trade ALGO directly through their bank accounts without needing a separate exchange or wallet.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb announced it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Celo (CELO) starting at 7:00 a.m. UTC on March 31 to support a network upgrade.