On March 12, 2026, the US Treasury's OFAC issued General License No. 134, temporarily allowing Russian oil loaded before that date to be sold, delivered and unloaded until April 11. The move, driven by the Hormuz Strait shutdown and oil prices rising above $100 per barrel, releases around 120 million barrels already at sea without authorizing new production or exports. Moscow has framed the step as recognition of Russia's role in market stability, while divisions within the G7 and warnings of potential $150–$200 oil highlight the broader risk of a deeper supply shock.

On March 13, 2026, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 7-3 to deny Custodia Bank a rehearing, confirming the Federal Reserve's discretion to refuse the Wyoming crypto bank a master account it has pursued since 2020. The ruling leaves Custodia without direct access to U.S. payment rails even as rival Kraken Financial recently received a one-year, limited "skinny" master account, and it has prompted political pushback in Congress and talk of a possible Supreme Court appeal.

Between March 9 and March 13, BlackRock's spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs together added about $614.9 million in net inflows, highlighting persistent institutional demand despite a largely flat crypto market. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) drew around $600.1 million over the five days, while the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) saw a smaller net gain of roughly $14.8 million after starting the period with a sizable outflow. In the same week, BlackRock also listed its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) on Nasdaq, launching with more than $100 million in assets and about $15 million in first-day trading volume.

Bitcoin climbed toward $72,000 after rebounding from a brief drop to $65,600, while its market capitalization approached $1.440 trillion and dominance rose to 57%. TAO led the larger-cap altcoins with a double-digit daily gain to near $270, as ETH moved above $2,100 and the total crypto market value increased by about $40 billion to above $2.5 trillion.

On March 15, 2026, the United States and Japan announced at least $30 billion in energy agreements at the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial in Tokyo, covering around 20 deals in LNG, coal, nuclear, critical minerals, and batteries. The package builds on a $550 billion trade framework signed in mid-2025 and includes projects such as a $33 billion gas-fired power plant in Ohio and a $2.1 billion crude oil terminal in Texas. The arrangements come amid a Qatar LNG supply shutdown on March 2, which has sharply driven up European and Asian gas prices and increased urgency for diversification.

Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital, said the US CLARITY Act must clear a Senate committee by the end of April and reach the Senate floor by early May 2026 to retain realistic prospects of passage. Ongoing disputes over stablecoin yield, broader questions about DeFi and agency oversight, and competing priorities such as the SAVE America Act are limiting the time available for comprehensive crypto market structure reform, which some analysts believe may not take full effect until 2029.

Galaxy Digital's Alex Thorn warned that if the US CLARITY Act fails to clear committee by the end of April, the likelihood of it becoming law in 2026 will be very low. He noted that debates over stablecoin rewards are seen as the main obstacle but cautioned that additional issues around DeFi, developer protections and regulatory authority could emerge, while other analysts project any crypto market structure rules may not take effect until 2029.

An analysis by TRM Labs found that less than 1% of on-chain crypto activity in Australia between March 2025 and February 2026 involved illicit counterparties, even as local entities processed about $50 billion in transaction volume. Sanctions-related flows made up roughly 70% of identified illicit volume, while darknet markets, investment fraud, and illegal goods and services formed the next largest categories. Australia's framework requiring digital currency exchanges to register with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre has coincided with a diversified crypto ecosystem and limited criminal exposure.