PANews reported on March 3rd, citing Bloomberg, that Bitcoin's price action after the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict over the weekend was volatile – it fell after the news broke, then rebounded, and by Monday's trading price was above pre-attack levels, leaving almost no lasting trace of fear or safe-haven demand. This movement reflects deeper market changes. Since the cryptocurrency crash last October, Bitcoin has been trapped in a narrow range of $60,000 to $70,000 after falling about 50% from its high. Much leverage has been unwound, retail participation has decreased, and capital flows have weakened. With reduced positioning, the subsequent impact of new shocks has also diminished.
A clearer market signal didn't come from Bitcoin itself, but from position changes within crypto platforms. On platforms like Hyperliquid, perpetual futures prices linked to oil, gold, and silver rose over the weekend, reflecting a rotation of funds towards traditional safe-haven assets following the reopening of global markets. Open interest in these commodity-linked contracts steadily increased, with one silver perpetual contract on Hyperliquid reaching a cumulative trading volume of $28.28 billion, and the oil perpetual contract launched in early January having a trading volume of nearly $400 million since its launch.
