On Tuesday, Bitcoin traded around $68,000, recovering from an intraday low near $66,000, even as global stock markets experienced a significant sell-off driven by escalating tensions from the Iran conflict. U.S. equities like the Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell sharply, alongside steeper declines in European markets and a tumble in precious metals. WTI crude oil, however, surged 8% to $77 per barrel. Bitcoin's modest 1% decline over 24 hours, coupled with its recovery above session lows, contrasted with losses in crypto-related stocks. James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, noted that Bitcoin's resilience amidst rising yields and geopolitical tensions suggests a constructive divergence from previous stress episodes, indicating potentially different market positioning compared to past cycles.

Ray Dalio, the influential founder of Bridgewater Associates, recently articulated his view that Bitcoin is not a viable long-term store of value or hedge. Dalio cited the absence of central bank backing as a primary concern, emphasizing that effective reserve assets necessitate institutional trust. He also highlighted potential vulnerabilities related to privacy protections and the uncertain resilience of Bitcoin against future quantum computing attacks. In contrast, Dalio reiterated his long-standing preference for gold, asserting its continued role as the dominant monetary asset due to its established trust and historical performance.

CME Group reported average daily trading volume in cryptocurrency contracts reached 322,000 contracts in February, corresponding to a notional value of $9.3 billion and marking a 45% increase, ChainCatcher reported. Average daily volume in micro Ethereum futures contracts rose 22% to 115,000 contracts, while micro Bitcoin futures contracts advanced 31% to 100,000 contracts. Average daily volume in Ethereum futures contracts increased 65% to 24,000 contracts over the same period.

MARA Holdings has no plans to sell most of its Bitcoin reserves and has rejected earlier claims of intending to liquidate all holdings, ChainCatcher reports, citing a clarification by Robert Samuels, Vice President of Investor Relations. The company said it broadened its financial strategy to allow more flexible buying and selling of Bitcoin based on market conditions and capital priorities, rather than targeting full reserve liquidation. MARA currently holds 53,822 Bitcoin worth about $4.7 billion, making it the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining company.

Paraguay's National Electricity Administration (ANDE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with cryptocurrency infrastructure firm Morphware to develop the country's first government-led Bitcoin mining initiative using seized mining equipment. The pilot phase will deploy around 1,500 confiscated Bitcoin mining machines. The project will use Paraguay's surplus hydroelectric power for compliant mining operations.

Bitcoin traded at $68,107.54 against the U.S. dollar on March 4, 2026, at 01:42 AM UTC. The cryptocurrency was also quoted at €59,258.17 versus the euro and £51,560.93 against the British pound. At the same time, Bitcoin was valued at 13.223 oz in gold and 810.081 oz in silver.

Bitcoin rose to about $69,413 on Tuesday with a 24-hour gain of 5.8%, while U.S. equity benchmarks including the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed lower and the VIX volatility index climbed to 25.16, CoinGecko and market data show. The broader crypto market cap held roughly stable at $2.41 trillion with a 0.9% daily increase and $123 billion in trading volume, while Bitcoin's market capitalization reached $1.36 trillion with a 56.7% share. On-chain data show long-term holder net selling over the past 30 days dropped from 243,737 BTC in early February to 31,967 BTC by March 1, miner net sales declined from 4,718 BTC on February 8 to 837 BTC by March 1, and large wallets holding 100,000–1,000,000 BTC added roughly 14,000 BTC between February 19 and 20. Bitcoin is trading between $65,000 and $68,000, with analysts flagging $65,000 as key support that, if broken, could open downside toward $64,600–$64,000 and possibly $63,000–$60,000, while resistance sits at $68,000 and then $70,000, according to commentary from Michael van de Poppe and other market strategists.

BlackRock recorded a net inflow of 3,810 BTC ($260M) on Coinbase Prime over the past 12 hours, original data show. The firm transferred 567 BTC ($38M) into the platform and moved 4,376 BTC ($298M) out during this period.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted roughly $1.5 billion in net inflows over five trading days even as Bitcoin fell more than 50% from its October 2025 peak, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said. Data show 17 of the top 25 Bitcoin ETF holders have steadily added positions since last October, pushing total ETF-held Bitcoin above $107 billion and giving institutional investors control of about 12% of circulating supply. Balchunas attributed recent buying to Baby Boomer investors born 1946–1964, while ETF Institute cofounder Nate Geraci said buyers are "clearly not panicking and selling."