Bitcoin Taps $69,000, Shakes Off Oil Price Surge Beyond $100

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) tapped $69,000 on Monday morning after oil retraced back below $110, following the G7 and IEA’s announcement about the largest coordinated strategic oil reserve release in history.

The Historic Oil Intervention

The G7 and International Energy Agency announced the release of 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, representing nearly 30% of the IEA’s total 1.2 billion barrel stockpile.

The emergency meeting was called to combat a severe supply shock following escalation of the Iran crisis.

Oil prices plunged 11% in one hour after the announcement.

The intervention targets oil prices that surged above $100 a barrel amid conflict involving Iran, the United…

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U.S. Treasury Recognizes Legitimate Uses For Crypto Mixers

The U.S. Treasury Department told Congress that bitcoin or crypto mixers can serve legitimate financial privacy purposes, signaling a shift in the government’s approach to blockchain privacy tools. 

The 32-page report, submitted under the GENIUS Act, also proposes new legislative tools to combat illicit finance, including a “hold law” that would give financial institutions temporary safe harbor to freeze suspicious digital assets.

The report acknowledges that lawful users may employ mixers to protect sensitive information on personal wealth, business payments, or charitable donations.

This represents a recalibration from Treasury’s earlier stance, which included sanctioning…

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Nigel Farage Acquires 6% Stake In Bitcoin Firm Stack BTC

Nigel Farage has taken a stake in a bitcoin treasury company led by former UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, deepening links between the crypto sector and the populist political movement led by Nigel Farage.

Farage invested £215,000 in Stack BTC through his media company Thorn In The Side Ltd, according to disclosures tied to a fundraising round for the London-listed firm. The purchase gives the leader of Reform UK a stake of about 6.3% in the company.

The investment forms part of a £260,000 capital raise that also included participation from Blockchain.com. Stack issued 5.2 million new shares at 5 pence each, with the shares set to trade on the Aquis Growth Market.

Farage’s… Read more on BitcoinMagazine

Strategy (MSTR) Spends $1.28 Billion To Buy More Bitcoin

Strategy, the bitcoin treasury company led by executive chairman Michael Saylor, purchased another 17,994 bitcoin for about $1.28 billion last week, continuing one of the largest corporate accumulation strategies in the digital asset market.

The company disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the purchases took place between March 2 and March 8 at an average price of $70,946 per coin. The acquisition brings the firm’s total holdings to 738,731 bitcoin.

Strategy has now spent roughly $56.04 billion to build its bitcoin position, with an average purchase price of $75,862 per coin. At the current price near $68,000, the company’s holdings carry a…

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Crypto Sees $619M Inflows During Iran Crisis As Bitcoin Wins, XRP Loses

Digital asset investment products recorded $619 million in inflows last week despite the Iran crisis, with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) dominating at $521 million while XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) bled $30.3 million in outflows.

The Weekly Flow Pattern

Early optimism was evident with inflows of $1.44 billion during the first three days of the week, according to Coinshares Research Blog. 

However, sentiment weakened later with outflows of $829 million on Thursday and Friday, despite payroll figures coming in significantly weaker than expected.

The rise in oil prices offset any potential decline in inflation that might otherwise have resulted from weak payroll data. Ultimately, the $619 million net inflow…

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LATEST: Crypto Funds See $619 Million Inflows Amid Geopolitical Tensions Last Week

Digital asset investment products recorded $619 million in net inflows last week, with early optimism driving $1.44 billion in the first three days despite the Iran crisis. Later outflows of US$829 million occurred Thursday and Friday, offset by rising oil prices amid weaker payroll data.

Bitcoin led with $521 million inflows, while Ethereum saw $88.5 million and Solana $14.6 million. XRP experienced $30.3 million outflows, and short-Bitcoin products attracted $11.4 million. Overall sentiment remained broadly positive during geopolitical stress.

Source

Tim Draper Says Bitcoin Safer Than Dollars Because Quantum Will Hack Banks Before It Can ‘Touch’ The Blockchain

Venture capitalist Tim Draper downplayed the impact of quantum computing on Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), arguing that fiat money in banks faces a greater risk.

Banks To Fall First?

In an exclusive interview with Benzinga, the billionaire investor said that he considers his Bitcoin holdings “more secure” than the dollars he keeps in the bank.

“Quantum, etc., will hack the banks long before it can touch the blockchain,” Draper said.

He added that even in the event of a hack, the network could be rolled back to the last secure block, a process often described as a fork.

Although technically possible, it’s rarely carried out except in extreme cases and requires widespread agreement among…

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Willy Woo Says Don’t Expect Institutions To Put In Trillions In Bitcoin In A Jiffy: ‘Things Move Slower Once It’s A Multi-Trillion-dollar Asset’

Cryptocurrency analyst Willy Woo dismissed on Sunday the idea of institutions pouring trillions into Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) overnight, predicting a more gradual buildup instead.

Will Bitcoin Explode?

Woo responded to an X post predicting that Bitcoin will be ready for a big move once institutional investors finish “loading up.”

The analysis by Crypto Fergani, a widely followed cryptocurrency trader, suggested that retail investors would return after Bitcoin is pushed high enough by institutional investors and after that, the leading coin would “explode.”

Willy Woo Says Things Will ‘Move Slower’

Woo argued that such a swift increase is unlikely, given the historical pace of…

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William Shatner Has More ‘Elon Dollars’ Courtesy of Musk — But Makes It Clear X Money Is Fiat, Not Crypto

Actor William Shatner stated on Sunday that the X Money payments service uses fiat money backed by a “real bank” and has nothing to do with cryptocurrency.

Not Crypto, But Fiat

The “Star Trek” star, who has been promoting the social media giant’s new feature, stated the deposits are held in dollars in Cross River Bank and are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $250,000 per person.

‘Elon Dollars’ For Promoting X Money?

The clarification comes in the wake of the beta rollout of the X Money feature as part of Elon Musk’s ambitious “everything app” vision.  Shatner previewed the service earlier in the week, sharing screenshots of the user interface and…

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Bitcoin, Ethereum Slide, XRP, Dogecoin Steady As Iran War Spooks Investors: Popular Chartist Says This Indicator Acting As ‘Ceiling’ For BTC Price – Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) (ARCA:BTC)

Leading cryptocurrencies slid alongside stock futures and commodities Sunday overnight as the ongoing Middle East conflict kept investors on edge.

Cryptos Sell Off

Bitcoin tumbled below $65,000 in the evening, while trading volume surged 52% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum also encountered strong selling pressure as the second-largest cryptocurrency gave up gains from earlier in the week.

The cryptocurrency market saw over $340 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, with nearly $175 million wiped out in just the last 4 hours, mostly from long positions, according to Coinglass data 

Open interest in Bitcoin fell 1.14% in the last 24 hours. Even so, whale and retail derivative traders…

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