On Tuesday, major U.S. equity benchmarks recovered from steep intraday declines, with the S&P 500 ending 0.9% lower after an earlier 2.5% plunge as conflict involving Iran and a spike in oil prices unnerved investors. Bitcoin traded around $68,000 after briefly touching $70,000 on Monday, while Brent crude surged above $87 per barrel and rate-cut expectations were pushed further out.

Australia could capture up to 24 billion Australian dollars ($17 billion) in yearly economic benefits from tokenized markets and digital assets if it advances regulation, according to a new report. The Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre projects that, without substantial changes, the country may realize only 1 billion Australian dollars ($710 million) in crypto-related gains by 2030. The report highlights regulatory uncertainty, coordination issues and limited scaling paths for pilots as key obstacles to unlocking this potential.

Hours after explosions were reported in Tehran, blockchain data showed crypto outflows from wallets tied to Nobitex, Iran's largest exchange, jumping about 700% and reaching millions of dollars within less than an hour. The spike, which followed reports of US and Israeli airstrikes, was short-lived as a roughly 99% drop in national internet connectivity sharply curtailed further transfers. Analytics firms indicated the move likely reflected short-term panic from users facing sanctions and banking limits rather than a coordinated large-scale capital shift.

Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan argued that the U.S. military strikes on Iran announced on a Sunday morning pushed crypto and onchain finance into a central role for global price discovery. He wrote that traditional markets were largely closed while crypto venues, tokenized gold, and prediction markets saw surging activity. Hougan now believes professional traders and institutions effectively have no choice but to adopt onchain finance tools.

On Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump criticized banks for blocking progress on the Senate’s crypto market structure legislation over restrictions on stablecoin yield payments. He warned that attempts to undermine the GENIUS Act and delay the CLARITY Act are unacceptable, and urged banks to reach an agreement with the crypto industry. Lawmakers and industry groups remain divided over whether the bill should ban all stablecoin yield, leaving the legislation stalled in the Senate.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission plans to introduce a framework for U.S. crypto perpetual futures within the next month, according to Chairman Michael Selig. The move aims to recapture trading activity that has shifted to offshore exchanges and make these leveraged, non-expiring contracts more accessible to domestic, including retail, traders while regulators and lawmakers continue to debate broader digital asset rules.

As of March 4, 2026, U.S. lawmakers remain divided over whether stablecoin issuers and crypto platforms may provide yield-style incentives to users, leaving the CLARITY Act stuck in the Senate after a strong bipartisan vote in the House. Representative French Hill is urging senators to accept the House-approved language, while traders on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket are still assigning notable odds that the bill will be enacted in 2026.

The crypto market is under pressure as Shiba Inu continues to breach short-term support patterns and XRP attempts a fragile recovery toward the $1.60 region. Bitcoin has rebounded from around $63,000 and is consolidating below $70,000, with a breakout still technically possible if buying momentum and volume strengthen. Overall trends for these assets remain cautious, with key moving averages acting as resistance and limiting the scope of any rebound for now.