Global Markets

During the Bitcoin price correction, spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted approximately $1.5 billion in capital inflows, serving as market support. Interest from traditional investors in ETFs has increased, breaking the notion that young investors dominate. The influence of institutional funds has expanded, with the total value of Bitcoin ETFs held exceeding $107 billion, indicating a strengthened willingness for long-term allocation.

The Korean stock market plummeted due to Middle East conflicts, with both KOSPI and KOSDAQ dropping over 10%, triggering a circuit breaker and marking the worst single-day performance in 2024. South Korea relies on imports for 94% of its oil, with 75% coming from the Middle East, causing panic. Global market capitalization evaporated by $3.2 trillion in four days, crude oil prices surged significantly, and the impact spread to other markets.

The report shows that the adoption of cryptocurrencies in Latin America is accelerating, with Argentina emerging as a leading country, having the highest number of monthly active users in the Latin American market. The use of cryptocurrencies is related to changes in payment methods, with the importance of stablecoins in daily transactions gradually increasing. By 2025, the adoption of cryptocurrencies in Argentina and Peru is expected to further grow, driving the increase in digital asset penetration.

The Bank of Japan has launched a regulatory sandbox, planning to tokenize current account deposits to promote 24-hour settlement and participate in the Agorá program, with a decision on the digital yen by 2026. The experiment will explore the application of blockchain in settlement systems to reduce cross-border remittance costs and improve efficiency, and plans to incorporate private stablecoins to maintain financial stability.

Recently, tensions in the Middle East have led to significant shifts in capital flow in the cryptocurrency market, becoming an alternative channel for capital transfer and price discovery. Capital outflows from Iranian exchanges and 24-hour crypto markets reflect their key role in the global financial landscape and demonstrate the importance of crypto assets in hedging demand and financial reform.

The cryptocurrency market saw a 6.43% increase, with Solana leading the rally due to a 9% price rise. Increased trading volumes indicate renewed investor interest, though the market remains volatile, necessitating cautious optimism among traders.

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Gate data shows WTI crude oil has risen above $75 per barrel, currently at $76.8 per barrel, with a daily increase of 2.45%.

2026-03-04 06:30 to 06:45 (UTC), BTC gained +0.79% in 15 minutes, with a price range of 68123.1-68672.3 USDT, achieving a 0.81% fluctuation. During this period, trading volume significantly increased, market attention rose, and volatility exceeded the intraday average, reflecting active short-term capital and heightened trading enthusiasm. The main driver of this anomaly is the continuous net inflow into the US spot BTC ETF products, especially single-day capital inflows led by major institutions (such as a peak of $458 million on a certain day in early March), pushing the market.

On March 4, 2026, from 06:30 to 06:45 (UTC), ETH achieved a return of +0.95% within 15 minutes, with a price range of 1967.24 to 1986.41 USDT and an amplitude of 0.97%. The short-term abnormal movement highlights increased market attention and is accompanied by heightened volatility, drawing significant focus from trading communities and on-chain funds. The main driver of this abnormal movement is the influx of macro hedging funds. Major Asian stock markets experienced a sharp decline, with the largest single-day drop exceeding 12%, prompting global funds to seek safe havens. Cryptocurrencies, as a mainstream alternative, received a notable influx of capital.

Visa Inc. accelerates the development of stablecoin payment networks, expands collaboration with Bridge, and plans to cover more than 100 countries and regions by the end of 2026. Users can spend using stablecoin balances, which are automatically converted to fiat currency at checkout. This move marks a step toward internationalization of stablecoin payments, while Visa is also advancing a stablecoin settlement pilot project to evaluate the potential of blockchain in payments.

Ripple announces that its payment platform transaction volume has surpassed $100 billion, covering over 60 markets, demonstrating the success of its cross-border payment solutions. However, XRP's liquidity index on Binance has dropped to a new low, indicating a significant decline in trading activity, which could impact price volatility risk. Analysis points out that even with business growth, low liquidity does not necessarily immediately improve market conditions.

Recently, Bitcoin spot ETFs attracted approximately $1.4 billion in capital inflows, but Bitcoin prices did not rise significantly, sparking market discussions about the correlation between ETF funds and price movements. Analysis indicates that ETF capital inflows are not entirely synchronized with spot market demand, which may lead to short-term price fluctuations. Nevertheless, ETFs are still regarded as an important channel for promoting the development of digital assets.

The tense situation in the Middle East has caused significant fluctuations in the global financial markets, with the Korean stock market dropping over 10%, triggering a circuit breaker. Japan and Hong Kong stock markets are also under pressure, crude oil prices have risen, and inflation concerns have intensified. The market is reassessing the safe-haven properties of leading assets like Bitcoin, resulting in a slight decline in the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Shanghai Municipal Data Bureau, and the National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly research the "Cross-Border Blockchain Platform," focusing on trade data interconnection and electronic bills of lading. The goal is to reform the $1.5 trillion global cargo financing market and promote Hong Kong's role as an international financial center. This collaboration will leverage a commercial data exchange platform and blockchain technology to address existing trade financing pain points and accelerate Hong Kong's digital asset policies, including introducing tax exemptions to attract institutional investors.

During the US-Iran conflict, traditional markets were closed, and the trading volume on the crypto derivatives platform Hyperliquid reached $11.5 billion, demonstrating the potential for on-chain finance to replace traditional exchanges. Bitwise's Chief Investment Officer believes that this weekend's situation has overturned predictions of traditional financial transformation. Bloomberg also cited Hyperliquid's crude oil contracts. Traditional exchanges need to accelerate their transformation to avoid being marginalized.

The Korean financial market continues to fluctuate due to the ongoing aftermath of the US-Iran war, with the Korean won against the US dollar breaking through 1,500 won, and the stock market plummeting below 5,400 points. Large-scale foreign capital sell-offs are impacting the market, and the Bank of Korea stated that it will monitor the situation and may take measures. Managing external risks is particularly important.

Crude oil prices continue to rebound due to political uncertainty and tightening energy supplies, with both WTI and Brent crude oil posting significant gains. Market trading activity has increased, with Gate TradFi opening new dual-end trading portals, driving the integration of crypto assets with traditional financial markets.

In the article "Changing the Weekend of Finance," Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan pointed out that traditional finance in the US and Israel paused during the crackdown on Iran, with the crypto platform Hyperliquid becoming a trading hub, indicating that the pace of TradFi transformation onto the chain may accelerate. Over the weekend, Hyperliquid's trading volume exceeded $11.5 billion, demonstrating the practicality of on-chain finance during market closures and forcing institutional investors to adapt.

Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions continue, and risk aversion in Asian financial markets intensifies, leading to significant declines in major stock indices. Bitcoin experiences a slight dip but remains within a key range, with market focus on institutional funding and ETF inflows. Mainstream cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Solana pull back as risk appetite contracts. Uncertainty in the macro environment and volatility in the energy markets increase market pressure.

On March 4th, the US Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net inflow of $225.2 million, with BlackRock's IBIT experiencing the largest inflow and Fidelity's FBTC experiencing significant outflows; the Ethereum spot ETF had a net outflow of $10.8 million, with Fidelity's FETH experiencing the largest outflow.