Iran | Crypto

Iran-linked contracts drove prediction market activity higher as the CFTC opened rulemaking and Democrats moved to ban war and death bets. Prediction market activity has climbed sharply as traders flock to contracts tied to the escalating US-Iran conflict, while Washington moves toward clearer federal rules for event contracts and a legislative push to explicitly bar markets tied to war, terrorism and death. Notional trading volume on Polymarket and Kalshi rose to new all-time highs during the week ending Monday, March 9, to $2.49 billion and $2.85 billion, respectively, according to Token Terminal data. The growing activity has pushed the total notional volume across all prediction markets to $145 billion through 2.8 million unique users, data from Dune shows. While the ongoing conflict drives more activity to these platforms, US regulators are seeking public feedback on new prediction market legislation and weighing a potential ban on war and terrorism-related event contracts. Read more

Bitcoin climbed back into the $73,500 to $73,800 resistance band over the weekend, reaching its highest level since the Iran war and Trump tariff turmoil began to shake global markets. The move comes even as crude remains above $100, supply through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted, and investors have cut back expectations for […] The post Bitcoin price confirms recovery hitting highest price since start of Iran war and Trump tariff chaos appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Polymarket and Kalshi are trying to raise money at valuations that put them in the top tier of consumer-fintech names, even as Washington moves closer to writing new rules for the product they sell. Both companies are reportedly in early fundraising talks that could value each at around $20 billion. That fundraising chatter is taking […] The post $700M in Iran war bets and $1.2M in suspicious profits push Washington toward prediction-market crackdown appeared first on CryptoSlate.

During the Iran conflict, gold attracted safe-haven demand, while Bitcoin’s reaction reflected liquidity conditions and broader market sentiment rather than acting as a classic crisis hedge. The 2026 Iran conflict created a major geopolitical shock that triggered volatility across global markets. It pushed investors to reassess traditional safe-haven assets such as gold and emerging alternatives like Bitcoin. Gold initially benefited from safe-haven demand but later declined as the US dollar strengthened and bond yields rose. This showed that macroeconomic forces can override crisis-driven buying. Bitcoin experienced volatility but recovered quickly, reflecting its growing role as an alternative asset. However, its price movements remained closely tied to market sentiment and liquidity conditions. Read more

DC Blockchain Summit vs Dubai: Regulatory Divergence The post DC Blockchain Summit Pushes On as Dubai Crypto Events Fall to Iran War appeared first on Cryptonews.

Each escalation in the Iran conflict has been larger than the last, but each bitcoin drawdown has been getting smaller.

Bitcoin has outperformed gold, silver, and major US equity indexes since the US-Israeli attack on Iran began, recovering to over $72,000 even as oil surged above $100 a barrel and traders cut expectations for near-term Federal Reserve easing. According to CryptoSlate data, Bitcoin is up 7.3% since the conflict began and even rallied to a […] The post Bitcoin surges over $72k to outperform gold and stocks since Iran strikes, but one brutal sell wall is looming appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin held near $70,000 despite oil price briefly trading around $100 a barrel, a move that would once have pushed crypto sharply lower under the usual macro playbook. According to CryptoSlate's data, the flagship digital asset climbed a modest 0.3% over the last 24 hours, reaching as high as $71,337 before retracing to $69,803 as […] The post Bitcoin set up for rip to $80,000 even as oil prices surge and Iran threatens $200 a barrel appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The United States spent in the first six days of its war with Iran an amount equal to nearly half the current market value of the Bitcoin held by the federal government. The administration told lawmakers this week that the war cost at least $11.3 billion through its first six days, Reuters reported on March […] The post White House admits Iran war burned equivalent of half the US Bitcoin reserve in 6 Days appeared first on CryptoSlate.

BTC traded near $69,500 after failing to hold $71,000 as the Iran war kept markets cautious. AI tokens including ICP, FET outperformed on strong retail demand.

Bitcoin climbed back above $70,000 Tuesday as crude oil staged a sharp reversal, easing near-term fears of accelerating inflation and giving digital asset markets room to recover. According to CryptoSlate's data, the largest digital currency jumped over 5% in the last 24 hours, peaking at around $71,164 after slipping below $68,000 earlier in the session. […] The post Trump says the Iran conflict is “very complete” — oil plunges and Bitcoin snaps back above $70k appeared first on CryptoSlate.

It's been a historic 24 hours for crude oil, which soared to $120 per barrel overnight on Iran worries, but has plunged back to just above $80.

Washington lawmakers are moving on multiple fronts to curb the most politically toxic corners of prediction markets after millions of dollars flowed into bets tied to US-linked military action in Iran. Over the past week, several Democratic lawmakers have been pursuing multiple paths to rein in the fast-rising business. One effort, led by Rep. Mike […] The post After $679 million in Iran war bets, Democrats move to ban prediction markets tied to military action appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The crypto exchange responded to a Senate inquiry over sanctions by claiming that “no Binance account transacted directly with an Iran-based entity.“ Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has officially responded to a February inquiry launched by a group of 11 US senators, largely denying facilitating transactions to Iranian entities and the narrative around employees’ terminations. In a Friday letter to US Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ron Johnson of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Binance said that an inquiry launched in February into the exchange’s activities was based on reports that were “demonstrably false, unsupported by credible evidence, and defamatory in several material respects.”  The exchange referred to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Fortune, which said that Binance fired employees that reported the company had facilitated more than $1 billion in crypto transactions to entities connected to Iran, called Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust. According to Binance, the...

Israel’s Finance Ministry has put a weekly price tag on the country’s widening war with Iran, estimating that the economy could take a hit of more than 9 billion shekels (equivalent to $2.93 billion) a week if emergency limits on activity remain in place. The estimate links the economic toll to the Home Front Command’s […] The post Israel’s Iran war will soon cost the equivalent of 41,300 Bitcoin every week appeared first on CryptoSlate.

When airstrikes hit Iran on Feb. 28, crypto outflows from Nobitex spiked 873%, suggesting a "digital bank run" was ongoing. The reality may be more complex.

TRM said a post-strike spike in Nobitex wallet activity looked like routine liquidity moves, even as Chainalysis flagged higher outflows from Iranian exchanges overall. Nobitex, Iran’s biggest crypto exchange, showed no signs of a sustained, user-driven run after US-Israeli strikes on Iran, even as blockchain data indicated a brief spike in activity and higher outflows from Iranian exchanges more broadly, according to separate analyses from TRM Labs and Chainalysis. The TRM report, which examined onchain activity around Nobitex after US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, found that the platform recorded a noticeable increase in activity in the immediate aftermath, including transfers exceeding $35 million from hot wallets to cold storage. However, TRM said the transfers were likely part of the exchange’s internal treasury operations. “Based on historical behavior and wallet attribution, these movements aligned with routine liquidity management rather than user-driven withdrawals,” the report said. Read...

The purchases came as geopolitical tensions tied to the US and Israel's conflict with Iran weighed on global markets, pushing major indexes lower. Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest increased its exposure to crypto-related equities, adding shares of Coinbase and Robinhood Markets across several of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as broader markets pulled back. The company purchased a combined 22,452 shares of Coinbase across the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) and ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), according to trade notifications for Tuesday. Based on Coinbase’s closing price of $182.36 during the day, the purchase was valued at about $4.1 million. Ark also accumulated 158,587 shares of Robinhood through the same ETFs. With Robinhood closing at $76.07, the transaction was valued at about $12 million. Read more

On Feb. 28, coordinated strikes hit Iranian nuclear facilities while most benchmark commodity markets sat dark. Traditional gold futures on CME's COMEX exchange wouldn't reopen until Sunday evening Central Time, leaving a 48-hour window where macro risk had nowhere obvious to express itself. Except it did: on venues that never close. By the time COMEX […] The post Hyperliquid gold perps front-ran CME after Iran strikes and the Monday gap exposed a new weekend leader appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Risk assets fell across the board Tuesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened to a near two-month high following renewed military escalation in Iran, pressuring the crypto market.