$100 Crude is “a very small price to pay” for “safety and peace”

Find out our latest reports, listed below:

• Volatility Report: February 2026

• 2026 – the year of RWA perps?
  
  
• Bybit x Block Scholes: “2026: It's Different This Time?”

• Tokenised Markets on Bitget UEX: Unlocking Real-World Assets On-Chain for 24/7 Global Access

Market Snapshot: Overnight Moves

Daily Updates:

• The weekend trend in crypto was moderately negative, with both majors drifting lower as macro conditions worsened. 
• Between Friday’s close and Sunday’s close, BTC fell from $68,148 to $66,036, while ETH declined from $1,980.78 to $1,938.62.

• The conflict between the US, Israel and Iran has entered its second week, with no clear timeline for de-escalation as strikes and retaliatory attacks continue across the region. 
• President Donald Trump signaled the US may expand strikes to additional targets, saying Washington is considering hitting “areas and groups of people that were not previously considered targets”, suggesting operations could continue “until they surrender or completely collapse.”

• This led to a sharp rise in oil prices over the weekend. By Sunday, 8 March, Brent and WTI had both moved above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022 as escalating conflict in the Middle East disrupted energy markets and pushed gas prices up as much as 30%, with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely halted. 
• President Trump said on Sunday that the jump in crude was “a very small price to pay,” arguing that prices would stabilize once “the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over.” 
• The surge in energy prices has raised concerns about renewed inflation pressures, with traders increasing bets on European Central Bank rate hikes to two 25-basis-point increases by year-end, compared with one previously priced.

• Against that backdrop, G7 finance ministers will hold an emergency meeting today to discuss potential coordinated action, including the possible release of strategic oil reserves.
• That added to Friday’s weak US labour market report, which showed a 92,000 decline in non-farm payrolls in February and an increase in the unemployment rate to 4.4%. 

• That puts even more attention on this week’s inflation data - CPI, PPI and PCE - ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting.

• Coinbase has started rolling out access to futures contracts for Coinbase Advanced users in 26 European countries via its MiFID-regulated entity.
• The offering includes cash-settled futures dated monthly or quarterly contracts or with 5-year expiries, across crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, as well as equity indices, with leverage of up to 10x on select contracts. 

• New BTC digital asset treasury company Stack BTC Plc, chaired by Kwasi Kwarteng, the former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer under the conservative party, has completed a £260,000 equity fundraising at £0.05 per share, issuing 5.2 million new ordinary shares to strategic investors including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Blockchain.com. 
• Following the investment, Farage holds around a 6.3% stake through his investment vehicle Thorn In The Side Ltd. 
• The company also disclosed its first bitcoin purchase of 21 BTC at an average price of $71,594 per coin (around $1.5M) as part of its bitcoin treasury strategy.

• Separately, Thailand-based investor Christopher Harborne, estimated to hold around a 12% stake in Tether, has donated significant sums to Reform UK, according to UK Electoral Commission disclosures. 
• New filings recently revealed an additional £3M donation made in November, on top of a £9M contribution last summer, bringing his disclosed contributions to £12M.

• Florida has become the first US state to pass a dedicated stablecoin framework.
• Senate Bill 314 has now passed both the Senate and the House of the Florida legislature and, as Samuel Armes, founder of the Florida Blockchain Business Association, wrote on X on Friday, “It has now passed the Senate and the House, and will be signed by DeSantis within the next 30 days!” 
• The bill sets out rules for payment stablecoin issuers, including licensing, consumer protections and financial stability standards aligned with the federal GENIUS Act, while also restricting interest payments where prohibited under federal law.

This Week’s Calendar:

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Charts of the Day: