NEW YORK, March 1, 2026, 12:05 EST — Market closed.
- Bitcoin hovered near $67,000 over the weekend as geopolitics took center stage again.
- Oil jumped following U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, putting inflation back in focus for risk assets.
- Eyes shift to Monday’s open, with Friday’s U.S. jobs data also on the radar for cues.
Bitcoin climbed roughly 2.7% to $66,898 on Sunday, CoinMarketCap data showed, with prices swinging between $64,873 and $68,163 in the last 24 hours. Still, the token remains around 47% under its record peak of $126,198 from October 2025.
Investors scrambled to factor a rapid-fire Middle East conflict into largely closed weekend markets. On Saturday, the United States and Israel struck Iran, stoking fears of oil supply shocks and possible inflation pressure. Bitcoin dropped roughly 2% during the day, underscoring its recent tilt toward risk asset behavior rather than functioning as a haven.
Oil prices made the move. Brent crude surged 10%, hitting roughly $80 a barrel in over-the-counter trades on Sunday while futures were shut, according to oil traders. For Ajay Parmar, director of energy and refining at ICIS, it’s the Strait of Hormuz that’s in the spotlight: “the key factor here is the closing of the Strait of Hormuz.” Reuters
That’s a problem for crypto: pricier energy can drive inflation up, and with inflation stubborn, interest rates may stay elevated. Risk assets usually react poorly to that scenario.
Flows into bitcoin-linked products have been anything but steady. On Friday, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $27.5 million, according to Farside Investors. BlackRock’s IBIT alone logged $32.7 million in outflows, the data showed.
Ethereum caught a lift as well, up around 3.6% to close to $1,973, CoinMarketCap data showed.
The setup of the weekend plays its own role. Oil and equity futures, along with U.S. cash markets, stay shut until Monday. Bitcoin, though, doesn’t pause—trading nonstop and putting crypto among the only liquid assets responding instantly to fresh headlines.
Up next: macro. The February U.S. jobs report lands March 6, with economists in a Reuters poll calling for a 60,000 increase in payrolls—down from the 130,000 added in January. Traders are set to scrutinize the figures, looking for signs that could sway Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations.
Barclays analysts, in a note Saturday, cautioned that markets might not be fully factoring in the risk if containment efforts unravel. Others pointed out that any sharp move in oil could muddle the inflation picture, especially with traders hoping for rate relief.
On the other hand, if tensions cool quickly, some of that oil risk premium could unwind—and risk appetite might lift off the floor. In setups like that, bitcoin often snaps higher, particularly when liquidity’s on the light side.
Looking to the coming week, traders are set to track Monday’s reopen in oil along with moves across broader risk markets. Fresh headlines tied to Gulf shipping routes could shift sentiment, with eyes on Friday’s March 6 U.S. jobs report as the likely next clear catalyst.
