Crypto Market Update: Bitcoin Rallies on Reports of Productive Middle East Talks

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$70,731.91, up by 3.7 percent over the last 24 hours.

Cryptocurrencies rose alongside equities after US President Donald Trump walked back earlier threats, saying he has ordered the military to postpone strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure following “productive” talks with ⁠Tehran. His comments also led to a decline in oil prices.

On Sunday (March 22), the president said the US would “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened within 48 hours. Iran said it would retaliate against US and Israeli infrastructure and threatened to completely close the strait, sending Bitcoin below US$67,600 and liquidating US$980 million in long positions.

While prices are up at the market's close, a funding rate of -0.003 and a relatively modest 0.57 percent rise in open interest over four hours suggest the rally is being fueled by the pain of bears, rather than the conviction of new buyers.

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,155.31, up by 4.5 percent over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.44, up by 3.8 percent over 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$91.48, trading 5.3 percent higher over 24 hours.

Today's crypto news to know

Nasdaq, Talos partner to bridge traditional and digital assets

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) and Talos announced a partnership to integrate Talos’ digital asset infrastructure with Nasdaq's Calypso and Trade Surveillance platforms. Talos, a company that provides institutional-grade technology and data to investors, connects institutions to providers in the digital asset ecosystem through its platform.

By connecting Talos’s digital infrastructure with Nasdaq’s management and oversight platforms, the two companies are creating a single system where large investors can handle both types of assets simultaneously.

This integration allows firms to turn traditional assets into digital tokens that can be moved and tracked instantly. The partnership also introduces high-level security and monitoring tools to the digital space, ensuring that these new markets follow the same strict rules against fraud and manipulation as the traditional stock market.

Deloitte Canada, Stablecorp team up on QCAD

Deloitte Canada and Stablecorp announced a major partnership using QCAD, a digital version of the Canadian dollar, to build stablecoin infrastructure for Canadian banks.

Deloitte, the world’s largest consulting firm, said it is backing QCAD as the standard for Canadian financial institutions to handle tasks like international transfers and clearing payments between each other 24/7.

The announcement specifically mentions that this initiative is being launched ahead of the passing of Bill C-15, which creates a legal framework for stablecoins in Canada.

This signals that Canada’s biggest financial players are moving past testing crypto and are now building the actual pipes to run the Canadian economy on stablecoins.

SEC, CFTC issue joint notice, defining securities

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a joint interpretative notice last week, bringing an official end to the “regulation by enforcement” era.

According to the notice, the regulators have created a token taxonomy that classifies almost all crypto assets as non-securities, effectively handing oversight of the industry to the CFTC. The SEC declared that the only crypto assets that will be regulated as securities are tokenized digital securities. The entities explicitly state that digital commodities, such as Bitcoin, Ether and digital tools, will generally not be classified as securities.

The SEC also provided a legal path for a token to stop being a security: if a project matures and no longer relies on a central team’s managerial efforts, it automatically sheds its security status.