Today's Cryptocurrency News (March 2) | Middle East Situation Escalates Again; Huang Licheng Loses $74 Million in Half a Year
This article summarizes cryptocurrency news on March 2, 2026, focusing on the latest Bitcoin updates, Ethereum upgrades, Dogecoin trends, real-time crypto prices, and price forecasts. Major Web3 events today include:
As Middle East tensions escalate, the Strait of Hormuz has become a global focus for oil supply. U.S. President Trump predicts conflicts with Iran could last four weeks. Shipping giant Maersk suspends all shipments through the strait, risking potential disruption to about 20% of global oil supply. Tanker insurance premiums soar, traders have priced in possible supply shocks into oil volatility. Goldman Sachs forecasts crude oil prices may fluctuate between $70 and $150 per barrel over the next month.
Market analysis indicates that rising oil prices not only impact the energy sector but may also tighten liquidity, affecting Bitcoin markets. Higher crude prices increase transportation and manufacturing costs, pushing CPI data upward, prompting central banks to delay easing policies, which in turn raises bond yields and tightens liquidity. This puts pressure on high-beta assets like Bitcoin, as funds may flow from digital assets and equities into bonds.
Bloomberg analysts warn that traders are alert to chain reactions triggered by rising oil prices, with significant de-leveraging risks. If yields and oil prices rise together, leveraged positions in Bitcoin and altcoins could be quickly liquidated. BeInCrypto notes that oil shocks can mechanically transmit through the market: rising oil → inflation increases → rate cuts decrease → yields rise → liquidity tightens.
Additionally, geopolitical risks are compounding, with conflicts possibly spreading to broader trade and financial environments, increasing global economic pressure. Over the next four weeks, Bitcoin’s price may heavily depend on developments in the Strait of Hormuz. If disruptions ease and prices stabilize, market risk appetite could quickly recover; otherwise, ongoing tensions may turn geopolitical noise into actual liquidity shocks, pressuring digital assets.
Over the weekend, the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran, resulting in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tensions in the Middle East rapidly increase, driving gold prices sharply higher. In early Asian trading, spot gold rose 2.4% to $5,406 per ounce, U.S. gold futures up 2.8% to $5,391.46. Year-to-date, gold has gained about 25%.
Iran responded with missile attacks on Israeli and U.S. military bases in Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain. President Trump stated that military actions against Iran would continue until objectives are met. Tehran’s security chief Ali Larijani said no negotiations with the U.S. are planned, indicating prolonged conflict.
Market risk aversion rises sharply, with investors selling stocks and flocking to gold, silver, and oil. Silver prices increased 2.4% to $96.04 per ounce; platinum up 1.7%, palladium up 3.1%. Oil prices also surged amid potential disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with Saudi Aramco halting operations at a refinery, adding to upward pressure. The dollar index strengthened, yet gold and oil prices remain elevated.
Analysts highlight that $5,400 is a key support level, with the all-time high at $5,595 per ounce set in late January. Pepperstone strategist Michael Brown believes weekend events reinforce bullish gold sentiment, with prices potentially reaching $6,000 by 2026. ING analysts warn that any energy supply disruptions could further push gold higher.
Franklin D. Templeton suggests shifting to a risk-averse stance, “selectively allocating to gold” to hedge potential risks. Singapore spot gold closed Monday afternoon at $5,406.27 per ounce, underscoring gold’s status as a prime safe-haven asset amid Middle East conflict.
According to CNBC, U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Monday following weekend airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran. The benchmark 10-year yield rose 1 basis point to 3.973%, the 30-year yield increased to 4.645%, and the 2-year yield jumped over 3 basis points to 3.417%.
The strikes resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, with about 200 casualties. Iran retaliated with missile attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East, killing three U.S. soldiers and injuring five. President Trump said the military operation was “progressing well” and warned that the conflict could last about four weeks, with potential for further casualties.
Investors are watching upcoming February employment reports, January retail sales, and unemployment data, along with ISM manufacturing and ADP employment figures. Analysts note that geopolitical risks may cause short-term fluctuations in Treasury yields and boost safe-haven demand. The situation also keeps markets attentive to how U.S. military actions and Middle East tensions could influence macroeconomics and capital flows.
According to CoinDesk, Hong Kong is strengthening its role as China’s financial bridge by signing an MOU with Shanghai authorities to develop a blockchain-based cross-border cargo trade and financing platform. HKMA, Shanghai Data Bureau, and the National Blockchain Innovation Center announced that the platform will connect trade data, electronic bills of lading, and financing systems to improve efficiency and reduce fraud risks from paper-based processes and delays.
This initiative is part of HKMA’s “Project Ensemble,” exploring blockchain and electronic documents to streamline cross-border trade finance, integrating with the Hong Kong Customs Data Exchange (CDI) and CargoX for secure data sharing. Officials say the platform will support about $1.5 trillion annually in cargo financing and provide compliant trade data channels for international investors.
This move extends Hong Kong’s digital asset strategy into the real economy, focusing on optimizing freight financing operations—addressing issues like paper documents, data fragmentation, and manual reviews to speed up credit approvals.
Analysts believe that if successful, Hong Kong will deepen integration into China’s supply chain ecosystem, offering reliable, transparent cross-border transaction data for global banks and investors, reinforcing its status as a financial and trade hub. The blockchain application could also serve as a model for future real-economy scenarios, promoting digital infrastructure and cross-border financial innovation.
Officials expect that post-launch, blockchain’s role in physical infrastructure will grow significantly, opening new pathways for cross-border cargo financing and settlement, further elevating Hong Kong’s strategic position in China and global finance.
Over the past four months, amid ongoing market adjustments, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have seen massive outflows totaling over $9 billion. Data from SoSoValue shows continuous net redemptions, marking one of the most significant withdrawal phases since their launch in early 2024 and signaling a shift in institutional sentiment.
Bitcoin ETFs have seen about $6.39 billion flow out over four months, the longest monthly outflow since inception. Ethereum ETFs also face notable redemptions, with about $2.76 billion withdrawn in the same period. This trend indicates that large capital is becoming more cautious in the current environment.
In early 2024, these ETFs rapidly became key channels for institutional access to digital assets, with inflows boosting market sentiment. After Trump’s election victory, expectations of friendlier regulation fueled a strong rally. Bitcoin hit a peak of around $126,000 in October 2025, and Ethereum surpassed $4,950 in August of that year. But since October, the market has sharply reversed, with Bitcoin down nearly 50% from its peak, hovering around $67,000; Ethereum has fallen over 60%.
Analysts see ETF fund flows as a key indicator of institutional mood. Before ETF launches, institutional crypto holdings were hard to track; now, these funds offer a window into large-scale capital movements. The four-month outflow marks the weakest phase since ETF debut.
While some days show small inflows, most market watchers agree that sustained, stable institutional capital inflows are needed to reverse the trend. The current outflow of over $9 billion continues to impact market confidence.
Ethereum (ETH) has continued its weak trend, with six consecutive monthly declines, the second-longest since the 2018 bear market. Data shows that during that period, ETH plummeted below $85 amid ICO bubble burst, while the current correction is driven by multiple factors.
Market analysts point out that the current ETH weakness is due to dispersed whale investments, derivatives selling, rising macroeconomic uncertainty, and outflows from spot ETH ETFs. Additionally, the rapid development of Layer 2 scaling networks has somewhat reduced mainnet fee income, adding downward pressure on prices.
Technically, ETH briefly touched $2,054 before falling back and breaking below $2,000. The price remains below the 100-hour simple moving average, indicating a recovery phase.
Key price levels are closely watched. Resistance is first at $2,000, then at $2,120 and $2,155. A successful break above $2,155 could open upside targets around $2,220–$2,250. Support is at $1,920 and $1,880; if these break, further declines could target $1,840, $1,800, or even $1,740.
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s technical roadmap continues. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently said AI tools could significantly accelerate development. He demonstrated that in testing AI coding, a simple blog app prototype was built in about an hour, showing AI’s potential to boost efficiency.
Buterin emphasizes that some of the efficiency gains should be used to strengthen security, such as increasing test coverage and formal verification, reducing smart contract vulnerabilities. He also notes that as development tools improve, the industry may gradually normalize “bug-free code” standards.
Long-term, some institutions remain optimistic. Standard Chartered projects ETH’s dominance in stablecoins, DeFi, and asset tokenization could push prices to $7,500 long-term. VanEck is more aggressive, targeting $10,000, citing upgrades like Pectra and Glamsterdam that could boost network capacity to 100,000 transactions per second.
Currently, ETH finds support near $1,900. The focus now is whether this level can hold and if funds will flow back into the Ethereum ecosystem.
One of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders, Strategy, announced a further increase in its preferred stock dividend yield. Founder Michael Saylor said on Sunday that from March 2026, the annualized dividend rate for STRC will rise from 11.25% to 11.50%. This is the seventh dividend increase since the product’s launch in July 2025, reflecting efforts to attract capital through high-yield structured products.
STRC, known as “Stretch,” is a perpetual preferred stock with a dynamically adjusting monthly dividend rate. The company adjusts yields monthly based on market conditions, aiming to keep the stock price near $100 par. During market volatility in February, STRC briefly traded below par but has since recovered. The product is positioned as a short-term high-yield savings asset, with next dividend payable on March 31, 2026.
In contrast, Strategy’s common stock, MSTR, has been under pressure. February saw a roughly 14% decline, marking the eighth consecutive month of decline. The stock peaked briefly at $543 in November 2024 but closed last week at $129.50, down about 75% from its all-time high.
CEO Phong Le recently said Strategy is adjusting its financing structure, reducing common stock issuance and increasing preferred stock issuance to expand Bitcoin reserves. He noted that in 2025, the company raised about $7 billion via STRC and other perpetual preferred stocks, accounting for roughly one-third of the preferred market.
Financials show that Strategy posted a net loss of $12.4 billion in Q4 2025, despite a 1.9% revenue increase to about $123 million. After earnings release, the stock fell 13% in a day. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s current price (~$66,000) remains below the company’s average cost basis of ~$76,020. The company’s average purchase price was $76,020, but current market prices are around $66,000.
Despite unrealized losses, Strategy continues to increase Bitcoin holdings. In the week of February 16, it spent about $39.8 million to buy 592 BTC, bringing total holdings to 717,722 BTC and completing its 100th Bitcoin acquisition. Analysts believe that as corporate reserves grow, Strategy’s capital restructuring and financing strategies will remain key market indicators.
Following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the airstrike, prediction markets related to his death face sharp criticism from U.S. politicians. Several senators are calling for regulators to restrict prediction contracts settled on personal death, bringing crypto prediction platforms and related financial products into the spotlight.
Data shows that decentralized platform Polymarket’s contracts related to the Iran airstrike have traded over $529 million. Similarly, Kalshi’s contracts on whether Khamenei remains the leader have exceeded $50 million, with about $20 million traded just on Saturday. After the airstrike was confirmed, these contracts quickly settled.
According to Kalshi’s filings with the CFTC, all positions are settled at the last trade price before Khamenei’s death. The platform then paused trading and closed the contracts. However, discrepancies between the settlement rules described on the site and official documents have raised user concerns. Markets remained active for hours between the attack and the death announcement, fueling controversy.
Kalshi later issued a statement acknowledging ambiguities in some rules and said it would refund all market fees. If users opened positions after Khamenei’s death, their trades will be fully refunded.
Meanwhile, blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps found that six new accounts, accurately predicting the timing of the Iran strike on February 28, profited about $1 million. These accounts mostly bet on the strike date, with some transactions completed hours before the attack. Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman noted that conflict-related events often attract informed traders betting in advance, and anonymous environments may amplify this risk.
Senator Adam Schiff and several Democrats have jointly written to CFTC Chair Michael Selig, urging regulators to ban prediction contracts related to personal death and demanding responses by March 9. Industry group Coalition for Prediction Markets also opposes such contracts in the U.S.
Experts warn that as war, politics, and crypto prediction markets intersect more, regulators may tighten oversight, and the legality and ethics of such contracts could become new issues in financial regulation.
South Korea is reevaluating its management of seized crypto assets. After multiple mishandlings, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol ordered an emergency review to strengthen security measures for government-held digital assets and prevent similar incidents. This move is seen as part of Korea’s effort to enhance crypto regulation and custody safety.
The review follows incidents such as in 2022, when Gangnam police lost 22 BTC during asset seizures, worth about $1.4 million at current prices. The assets were stored in insecure third-party wallets, leading to theft and criminal investigation. This exposed gaps in law enforcement custody procedures, permissions, and security audits.
Further concerns arose in February 2026, when a major Korean crypto platform experienced a system glitch that falsely recorded 620,000 BTC—worth roughly $400 billion—due to a bug. Most funds were recovered, but the incident revealed systemic risks in automated trading and risk controls.
Under mounting pressure, Korea plans to implement stricter standards, including multi-signature wallets, unified law enforcement custody procedures, and more frequent audits. Regulators will also review technical systems to reduce human error and vulnerabilities.
As cybercrime and crypto scams increase, Korea aims to build a more secure management framework. If new custody and regulation standards are successfully implemented, Korea could set a mature model for government crypto asset security and influence global standards.
As US-Iran tensions escalate, geopolitical risks are rapidly spilling into crypto derivatives markets. Arthur Hayes recently stated that Hyperliquid’s ecosystem token HYPE could surge to $150, with several times upside potential. His outlook is based on soaring platform activity, especially explosive growth in energy-related derivatives trading.
Hayes notes that Hyperliquid’s permissionless market HIP-3 has attracted increasing trader participation. Since its October 2025 launch, activity has steadily risen. In January, open interest in HIP-3 contracts exceeded $793 million, hitting a record high. The surge in commodity trading demand briefly pushed HYPE prices up about 25%.
Recently, tensions in the Middle East have intensified energy derivatives trading. Oil-USDH perpetual contracts rose over 5% to $73.12; USOIL-USDH contracts climbed above $88. Trading volume in the past 24 hours approached $17 million, with open interest over $9 million. Gold and silver futures also rose, reflecting market re-pricing of energy and safe-haven demand amid conflict.
The tokenomics of HYPE further support price growth. The platform uses part of trading fees to buy back and burn HYPE tokens, reducing circulating supply. Data from DefiLlama shows about $2.8 million in fees over the past 24 hours, with over $9 million worth of tokens burned in the past week—up over 20% from previous periods.
Amid escalating conflict, HIP-3 open interest has surpassed $1.1 billion, with daily trading volumes reaching $5 billion at times. Analysts believe that in the context of global focus on oil supply risks and energy prices, on-chain commodity derivatives are attracting increasing capital.
Meanwhile, President Trump indicated that U.S. military actions against Iran could continue for weeks, while Iran hinted at no negotiations. The geopolitical uncertainty is fueling energy markets and derivatives trading, further boosting HYPE’s upside potential.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted a Q&A on X, responding to community questions about the contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, which garnered over 6.6 million views and 7,500 comments. Altman explained that the deal was rushed because OpenAI had only recently negotiated non-classified cooperation with the DOD, having previously declined classified contracts (later taken by Anthropic). When the DOD accelerated efforts after banning Anthropic, OpenAI signed quickly to “de-escalate” the situation, and negotiations included provisions to open similar terms to other AI labs.
Asked why they didn’t speak out for Anthropic, Altman called the company “a supply chain risk,” and said the decision by the DOD was “very bad,” hoping they would withdraw. He also noted that Anthropic seemed more concerned with contractual restrictions than legal compliance, possibly seeking more operational control.
Regarding OpenAI’s red lines, Altman said, “If asked to do unconstitutional or illegal things, we will withdraw. Come visit me in prison.” On overseas surveillance, he admitted he “dislikes” U.S. military monitoring of foreigners, emphasizing that “democratization” is a core AI principle, which surveillance may contradict, but he believes it’s not his decision.
He concluded with a question many avoided: what if the U.S. government tries to nationalize OpenAI or other AI projects? He said he has long believed that building AGI might be a government project.
As geopolitical tensions between the U.S., Israel, and Iran intensify, crypto sentiment has become more cautious. On-chain data shows about 472 million XRP—worth roughly $650 million—was transferred to exchanges in the past week, an unusually large movement that raises concerns about short-term selling pressure.
Analyst Darkfost notes this is the largest inflow since February. Typically, large token inflows to exchanges suggest potential selling, as assets need to be on the platform to be sold. Amid Middle East escalation and global risk asset volatility, some investors are moving assets into exchanges for liquidity and risk management.
This inflow correlates with weekend regional conflicts. After the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, crypto markets reacted with sharp declines. Darkfost points out that since the initial attack occurred after traditional markets closed, crypto was among the first to reflect geopolitical risks. News of Khamenei’s death further heightened regional tensions, with Iran retaliating against Israel and Gulf states, reducing risk appetite.
In this environment, assets like XRP have weakened, with over 4% decline in 24 hours, trading near $1.37. However, analysts caution that large inflows don’t necessarily mean immediate sell-offs; some may be for liquidity management, arbitrage, or collateral adjustments. Since October 2025, XRP reserves on exchanges have generally declined, and this recent inflow may be a short-term reversal.
NYDIG research head Greg Cipolaro states that if AI impacts labor markets and economic structures, forcing global central banks to adopt looser monetary policies, Bitcoin could be a primary beneficiary.
In a recent report, Cipolaro notes AI’s potential to become a “general-purpose technology” like electricity, influencing productivity, employment, and risk appetite, which in turn affect macro liquidity. These factors are long-term drivers of Bitcoin’s price.
The report suggests that if AI spurs economic growth with liquidity expansion and suppressed real interest rates, the macro environment favors scarce assets like Bitcoin. Conversely, if technological progress boosts real yields, central banks may tighten, pressuring Bitcoin.
If AI causes employment shocks—rapid job displacement without enough new roles—governments might respond with fiscal and monetary easing, increasing risk assets including Bitcoin. AI’s impact on corporate structures is already evident; tech firms are restructuring around AI. Jack Dorsey’s Block is cutting 40% of staff amid AI-driven transformation, expecting more companies to follow.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs previously reported that AI could affect about 7% of U.S. jobs but also create new roles and boost productivity.
Cipolaro believes history shows that major technological shifts cause short-term pain but eventually lead to societal adaptation. Firms that leverage AI effectively may expand profits, and workers who develop AI skills could command higher wages. For crypto, macro policy shifts driven by AI could be a key long-term factor influencing Bitcoin’s trajectory. (Cointelegraph)
According to Arkham, “Brother Ma Jie” Huang Licheng lost $74 million over the past six months—he has been trying to leverage long ETH since September last year when ETH was $4,700. Now, his HL account has only $8,500 left, suggesting he has nearly exhausted his funds.
Monad ecosystem’s stock platform Block Street published the BSB tokenomics. Total supply is 1 billion tokens, issued on Ethereum and BNB Chain, with an initial circulating supply of 20.775% (207.75 million).
Token allocation includes: community and user incentives (22.10%), ecosystem partners (20.60%), exchanges and marketing (10.65%), treasury (5.65%), team and advisors (17.30%), core investors (15.70%), strategic investors (3.00%), and liquidity (5.00%).