Here’s the reason bitcoin rose above $71,000.

Your day-ahead look for March 4, 2026

Bitcoin surged past $71,000 (WikiImages/Pixabay modified by CoinDesk)

What to know:

If you are not yet subscribed to the newsletter email, click here.

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless specified otherwise)

Bitcoin BTC$71,150.61 climbed close to $72,000, reaching a one-month peak and propelling the overall cryptocurrency market even amid the turmoil in traditional markets due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The outperformance can be attributed to a variety of factors, such as relative positioning, increased likelihood of the U.S. passing the long-discussed Clarity Act aimed at regulating stablecoins, and optimism regarding a swift resolution to the conflict with Iran.

Bitcoin, which is down nearly 50% from its all-time high in October, was already considered oversold prior to the onset of hostilities on Saturday. Consequently, while traditional assets declined, BTC demonstrated resilience. This has likely sparked renewed interest from investors in the leading cryptocurrency, enticing institutions back to the spot ETFs.

As pointed out on Monday, bitcoin is poised to benefit because the ongoing war is expected to exacerbate government finances globally, leading to increased “fiat debasement.”

Additionally, the New York Times published a noteworthy report that may have contributed to the price increase, according to Bloomberg. The article indicated that the day following the start of the attacks, agents from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence reached out to the CIA to negotiate terms for ending the conflict. Although the U.S. did not respond to this overture, the contact implies that backchannels remain active and could potentially be utilized again, possibly resulting in a ceasefire.

Finally, there is a chance that the Clarity Act might be enacted soon.

"Speculation is circulating in the U.S. that the Clarity Act is nearing finalization for signing. This has contributed to a rise in many altcoins relative to major assets, as they are anticipated to be among the most significant long-term beneficiaries of the legislation," Paul Howard, director at trading firm Wincent, stated in an email.

However, he noted that there is currently no compelling evidence suggesting that a substantial amount of sidelined capital is prepared to enter the digital assets space, and any movement remains relatively minimal or gradual.

Looking forward, traders anticipate continued volatility, especially if the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil-supply chokepoint, remains obstructed and oil prices continue to escalate.

"We foresee ongoing volatility, but if disruptions persist, there will likely be increasing pressure to reopen Hormuz. Bitcoin has shown greater resilience than broader risk assets, making it worth monitoring as an early indicator of stabilizing sentiment," QCP Capital’s market insight team remarked. Stay vigilant!

Read more: For insights on today’s altcoin and derivatives activity, refer to Crypto Markets Today

What to Watch

For a more detailed schedule of events this week, see CoinDesk’s "Crypto Week Ahead".

• Crypto
  • March 4: Qubic initiates testing for parallel dogecoin mining and AI training
• Macro
  • March 4, 8:15 a.m.: U.S. ADP employment change for February (Prev. 22K)
  • March 4, 10:00 a.m.: U.S. ISM services PMI for February (Prev. 53.8)
  • March 4, 2:00 p.m.: U.S. Fed Beige Book
• Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)
  • No significant earnings scheduled.

Token Events

For a more detailed schedule of events this week, see CoinDesk’s "Crypto Week Ahead".

• Governance votes & calls
  • Uniswap DAO is holding votes on two interconnected proposals to broaden v2 and v3 protocol fees to eight layer-2 networks and implement a new tier-based fee structure across all v3 pools. Voting concludes on March 4 & 5.
  • ENS DAO is voting to substitute three DNSSEC oracle algorithms to rectify a critical RSA signature forgery vulnerability and significantly decrease gas expenses. Voting ends March 4.
• Unlocks
  • No notable unlocks.
• Token Launches
  • March 4: Block Street (BSB) is set to be listed on Binance Alpha, Bybit, and others.

Conferences

For a more detailed schedule of events this week, see CoinDesk’s "Crypto Week Ahead".

• Day 1 of 3: Quant 2026 (Varese, Italy)

Market Movements

• BTC has risen 4.49% from 4 p.m. ET Wednesday at $71,283.58 (24hrs: +6.65%)
• ETH has gained 5.19% at $2,068.65 (24hrs: +5.64%)
• CoinDesk 20 is up 4.31% at 3,086.55 (24hrs: +5.45%)
• Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is down 1 bps at 2.85%
• BTC funding rate is at 0.0051% (5.6119% annualized) on Binance

• DXY is down 0.25% at 98.81
• Gold futures are up 1.70% at $5,194.10
• Silver futures are up 4.00% at $86.24
• Nikkei 225 closed down 3.61% at 54,245.54
• Hang Seng closed down 2.01% at 25,249.48
• FTSE 100 is up 0.18% at 10,502.97
• Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.70% at 5,812.08
• DJIA closed on Tuesday down 0.83% at 48,501.27
• S&P 500 closed down 0.94% at 6,816.63
• Nasdaq Composite closed down 1.02% at 22,516.69
• S&P/TSX Composite closed down 2.19% at 33,784.90
• S&P 40 Latin America closed down 4.95% at 3,539.33
• U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 1 bps at 4.06%
• E-mini S&P 500 futures are unchanged at 6,825.00
• E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are unchanged at 24,762.00
• E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 0.12% at 48,501.00

Bitcoin Stats

• BTC Dominance: 59.61% (+0.81%)
• Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.02909 (0.26%)
• Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 1,025 EH/s
• Hashprice (spot): $31.26
• Total fees: 2.71 BTC / $183,733
• CME Futures Open Interest: 101,620 BTC